- The defending champions face a demanding trip to Quito, where the Ecuadorian side have won their last five matches in a row.
- Flamengo are unbeaten in this edition of Eternal Glory and reach the last eight after eliminating Cruzeiro in the Round of 16.
The defending champions visit the 'Giant Killers'. Unbeaten in this edition with six wins and two draws, Flamengo take on an Independiente del Valle side enjoying the best winning run in their CONMEBOL Libertadores history and, furthermore, the team to have produced the highest expected goals tally in the competition. In other words, two of the tournament's most productive attacks will go head-to-head.
'El Rayo' wrapped up their tie against Deportes Tolima with a 3-1 win in Quito, following a 1-0 victory in the first leg in Ibagué. Daykol Romero opened the scoring, Carlos González — the Copa's second-highest scorer with seven goals — doubled the lead, Junior Hernández pulled one back and Matías Perelló sealed a 4-1 aggregate victory in the dying moments. Joaquín Papa's side have won their last four matches in the competition and their last five at home, while they also carry a result that nobody in Quito has forgotten: their 5-0 win over Flamengo in the 2020 group stage, the biggest victory in their history in the tournament.
Independiente del Valle in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026: results, squad and schedule
Flamengo arrive with the same pedigree that saw them lift the trophy last year. Following a 1-1 draw in Belo Horizonte, Leonardo Jardim's 'Mengão' eliminated Cruzeiro at the Maracanã with goals from Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Samuel Lino, confirming an unbeaten campaign that has seen them go without defeat after the first eight matches of a Libertadores campaign for the fifth time in their history. Bruno Henrique, with four goals, is their leading scorer, while a squad deep enough to field virtually two full teams allows their manager to navigate the fixture schedule without sacrificing attacking threat.
The head-to-head record between the two sides is as short as it is intense: six matches in CONMEBOL competitions, two Recopa finals with one title apiece, and one constant that sets the tone for this tie: the home side have never lost. Runners-up in 2016 and two-time CONMEBOL Sudamericana champions, Independiente del Valle are chasing the only major continental title still missing from their trophy cabinet and know their best chance lies in making home advantage count in Quito before the second leg in Rio. For Flamengo, the task is to withstand the altitude and the Ecuadorian side's attacking threat before deciding the tie on home soil.
Flamengo in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026: results, squad and schedule
Match details:
Stadium: Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito
Date and kick-off time: Thursday 10 September, 19:30
Referee: Facundo Tello (ARG)
VAR: Silvio Trucco (ARG)
The match in numbers:
- Independiente del Valle and Flamengo have met six times in CONMEBOL competitions, with the home side never losing (2W 1D for the Ecuadorians, 3W for the Brazilians). They have also met in two Recopa finals, with one title apiece. Independiente del Valle's biggest-ever win in the Libertadores came against Flamengo (5-0 in 2020), while the Rubro-Negro won the return leg 4-0 in the same tournament.
- Flamengo are unbeaten in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026 (6W 2D). It is the fifth time the Rubro-Negro have gone unbeaten through their first eight matches of a Copa campaign, after 2022 (champions), 2021 (runners-up), 1991 (quarter-final exit) and 1981 (champions).
- Independiente del Valle are currently enjoying both their longest overall winning run (4W) and their longest winning run at home (5W) in the CONMEBOL Libertadores.
- The two teams that have produced the highest expected goals figures so far in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026 will face each other: Independiente del Valle (16.1 xG) and Flamengo (15.2 xG).
- Carlos González (Independiente del Valle) is the second-highest scorer in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026 with seven goals: six have come from headers, although his latest was scored with his left foot against Tolima in the second leg of the Round of 16.
