- The four-time champions of the Americas showcased their pedigree in the CONMEBOL Libertadores knockout phase to reach the last four in the continent.
- With Guido Carrillo as their attacking reference point and Fernando Muslera providing security between the posts, ‘León’ are drawing on their continental mystique to keep their dream alive.
For some clubs, the CONMEBOL Libertadores is a tournament; for Estudiantes, it is an identity. Four-time champions of the Americas, the club entered the 2026 edition as Argentine Torneo Clausura champions and secured their place in the semi-finals with the formula that has long defined them: solidity, organisation and a touch of mystique at just the right moment. Runners-up in Group A on nine points behind formidable Flamengo, ‘Pincha’ went unbeaten at UNO and lost only at the Maracanã.
Their place in the knockout stages was sealed by a scene that has already become part of the club's emotional archive: Mikel Amondarain's stoppage-time header against Independiente Medellín, in the 45+1st minute of the second half on the final matchday. “This match showed what Estudiantes are, a club full of mystique. We won it with heart, with soul, with spirit,” said Alexander Medina that night, the Uruguayan manager who took charge in February following Eduardo Domínguez's departure.
The Round of 16 brought Universidad Católica, group winners with 13 points and the side behind a historic victory over Boca Juniors at La Bombonera, into the ‘Pincha’s’ path. After a 1-1 draw in La Plata, Estudiantes settled the tie in emphatic fashion in Santiago, winning 3-0 at the Claro Arena with a Guido Carrillo brace and a goal from Joaquín Correa.
Corinthians emerged as the next obstacle in the quarter-finals. The first leg in Argentina ended 1-1. And the second leg, true to the history of the La Plata side, had all the makings of an epic finish: Alexis Castro scored a stoppage-time goal in São Paulo to put Alexander Medina's side ahead, before Memphis Depay missed a penalty late on to settle the tie and send the Argentine representatives through to the semi-finals of the competition once again.
Estudiantes in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Results and Schedule
Group A
Matchday 1: Independiente Medellín 1-1 Estudiantes
Goals: Francisco Chaverra (64') / Tiago Palacios (4')
Matchday 2: Estudiantes 2-1 Cusco FC
Goals: Facundo Farías (28') and Tiago Palacios (47') / Lucas Colitto (32')
Matchday 3: Estudiantes 1-1 Flamengo
Goals: Guido Carrillo (54') / Luiz Araújo (32')
Matchday 4: Cusco FC 1-1 Estudiantes
Goals: Lucas Colitto / Tiago Palacios (58')
Matchday 5: Flamengo 1-0 Estudiantes
Goal: Pedro (64')
Matchday 6: Estudiantes 1-0 Independiente Medellín
Goal: Mikel Amondarain (90+1')
Round of 16
First Leg: Estudiantes vs Universidad Católica
Tuesday, August 11, at 9:30 p.m. Argentina time
UNO Jorge Luis Hirschi Stadium, La Plata
Second Leg: Universidad Católica vs Estudiantes
Tuesday, August 18, at 8:30 p.m. Chile time
Claro Arena, Santiago
Quarter-finals
First leg: Estudiantes 1-1 Corinthians (Alexis Castro 4' / Kaio César 49').
Second leg: Corinthians 0-1 Estudiantes (Alexis Castro 87').
Estudiantes Head Coach in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Alexander Medina
‘Cacique’ arrived in La Plata in February 2026 with a delicate task: replacing Eduardo Domínguez, who had surprisingly left for Atlético Mineiro just weeks after winning the Clausura. Having begun his coaching career at Nacional in Montevideo, Medina established himself at Talleres de Córdoba, had a spell at Internacional in Porto Alegre and reached the CONMEBOL Libertadores semi-finals with Vélez in 2022, before a stint with Spanish side Granada.
At Estudiantes, he embraced the club's DNA from day one and built what he himself described as an almost ideal Group Stage campaign: they won their home matches, drew with the reigning champions and only slipped up at the Maracanã. Reaching the Round of 16 was his stated first objective, and the team achieved it: after the 1-1 draw in La Plata, they beat Universidad Católica 3-0 in Santiago and advanced to the quarter-finals, where they eliminated Corinthians 2-1 on aggregate. The next objective leaves no room for error: Estudiantes are going all out in the semi-final against reigning champions Flamengo.
Estudiantes Squad for the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores
Goalkeepers: 1. Fabricio Iacovich - 12. Rodrigo Borzone - 16. Fernando Muslera - 30. Tiziano Van Der Tuin.
Defenders: 3. Máximo Desábato - 4. Santiago Núñez - 13. Gastón Benedetti - 24. Tiago Palacios - 26. José Funes - 33. Faustino Messina - 35. Valente Pierani - 36. Joaquín Pereyra - 37. Matías Magdaleno - 40. Eros Mancuso - 45. Jorge Georgieff - 51. Bautista Molinari.
Midfielders: 7. José Sosa - 8. Gabriel Neves - 11. Facundo Farías - 14. Leandro González Pirez - 21. Lucas Piovi - 22. Alexis Castro - 25. Ciro Spalletta - 34. Thiago González - 38. Franco Basualdo - 39. Lucas Cornejo - 46. Benjamín Maliani - 48. Axel Atum - 50. Agustín Traina - 52. Bautista Kociubinski.
Forwards: 9. Guido Carrillo - 10. Tiago Palacios - 15. Santiago Arzamendia - 17. Joaquín Tobio - 18. Edwuin Cetré - 19. Adolfo Gaich - 20. Eric Meza - 23. Franco Domínguez - 27. Lucas Alario - 28. Brian Aguirre - 29. Fabricio Pérez - 41. Benjamín Sagues - 42. Leonardo Naser - 43. Santino Crego - 44. Juan Fernández Soler - 47. Enzo Sanabria - 49. Francisco Silvetti.
Estudiantes’ Key Player in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Fernando Muslera
At 40, the Uruguayan goalkeeper has been the quiet pillar of the campaign: he played all 540 minutes of the first round, the same as Leandro González Pírez, his partner in the last line of defence. After almost two decades with Lazio and Galatasaray — where he became a club legend — and a CV featuring five World Cups with Uruguay, Muslera chose La Plata for his final major challenge, and the 2026 Libertadores has found him in fine form. He was instrumental at altitude in Cusco to secure a valuable point and reached the decisive nights at UNO unbeaten. Against Universidad Católica, he made two crucial interventions, followed by a clean sheet in the second leg against Corinthians that sealed Estudiantes' place in the semi-finals.
His pedigree also sends a message within the squad: in a team that combines experience — including Guido Carrillo and Joaquín Correa — with academy graduates, the Uruguayan brings the calm of someone who has played on every major stage. In knockout football, where fine margins decide ties, having Muslera between the posts is an argument in itself.
Estudiantes’ Top Scorers in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Tiago Palacios and Guido Carrillo
Tiago Palacios was ‘Pincha’s’ most dangerous attacking weapon during the Group Stage: he scored the team's first goal of the campaign, in the fourth minute of the first half in Medellín, and also found the net against Cusco FC both in La Plata and at altitude in Peru. With three goals, he reached the Round of 16 as the team's leading scorer and one of Alexander Medina's main attacking references.
The tie against Universidad Católica added another name to the top of the scoring chart. Guido Carrillo, who had already scored against Flamengo in the Group Stage, struck twice in the 3-0 second-leg win in Santiago to also reach three goals in the competition. The captain, who became the club's all-time leading scorer in the competition, was also directly involved in all three goals that night, securing Estudiantes' return to the quarter-finals for a second consecutive edition.
Palacios, who came through the River Plate academy and had spells with Platense and Montevideo City Torque, and Carrillo, a product of Estudiantes' own academy, therefore share the team's scoring lead ahead of the quarter-final tie against Corinthians.
Estudiantes’ X-Factor in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Alexis Castro
The midfielder, who came through San Lorenzo's academy before making his professional debut for Tigre, will always remember the two continental nights that firmly etched his name into Estudiantes' rich history.
In the first leg in La Plata, he opened the scoring in the 1-1 draw that left the tie finely poised and set the stage for a thrilling decider in São Paulo. In the second leg, he put his stamp on a stunning stoppage-time goal to send the Argentine side through to the semi-finals of the continent's most prestigious club competition. ‘Puchito’ is the versatile midfielder in Alexander Medina's side: he battles alongside Ezequiel Piovi and also gets into the opposition box to provide an attacking option, something that proved vital against Timão.
Estudiantes’ History in the CONMEBOL Libertadores
Few clubs carry the CONMEBOL Libertadores on their crest quite like Estudiantes: champions in 1968, 1969 and 1970 — the only club in the competition's history to win three consecutive titles — and champions again in 2009, as well as winners of the 1968 Intercontinental Cup. Under president Juan Sebastián Verón, heir to a surname that runs through every chapter of the club's great achievements, Alexander Medina's ‘Pincha’ have returned to the semi-finals with the formula that has always defined them: mystique and emotionally charged feats. The tie against reigning champions Flamengo is the next chapter in a story that, in La Plata, is never quite finished being written.
