- Ferro Carril Oeste defeated Peñarol to finish top of Group A in the CONMEBOL Women's Futsal Libertadores, ahead of the Uruguayan side.
- Stein Cascavel once again showcased their quality, thrashed Exa Ysaty and completed the Group Stage at the top with a perfect record. Their closest challengers, La Unión, had a rest day.
The Group Stage of the 11th edition of the CONMEBOL Women's Futsal Libertadores has come to an end. The four fixtures on the fifth and final matchday, held at the Estadio Multideportivo Ferro Carril Oeste in Buenos Aires, determined the Knockout Stage match-ups on the road to the title.
The day's action began with Llaneros defeating U. de Chile 3-1 to finish fourth in Group B. Stein Cascavel then overcame Exa Ysaty and will head into the next round on the back of four consecutive victories. In the first Group A fixture, Víctor Muriel and Caracas FC played out a 1-1 draw. Finally, Ferro Carril Oeste, backed by their home supporters, secured a crucial victory over Peñarol to finish the first stage top of their group.
Thursday will be a rest day. The Knockout Stage gets underway next Friday, with the semi-finals pairing Ferro Carril Oeste against La Unión and Peñarol against Stein Cascavel.
Llaneros (COL) 3-1 U. de Chile (CHI) – Group B
The Colombian side claimed their first victory of the competition with a 3-1 win over their Chilean opponents, finishing fourth in Group B.
Mariana Palleres opened the scoring for the Chilean side. The standout number 10 received the ball on the left and finished accurately to give her team a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Llaneros produced a powerful response after the break. Angie Ortiz scored twice to turn the game around: she first levelled with a low, powerful strike following a free-kick, before putting the Colombian side ahead with a well-placed effort into the corner. In the closing stages, Valentina Salazar completed the 3-1 victory on the counter-attack for Berley Villa's team, who will now face Caracas FC in the seventh-place play-off.
Stein Cascavel (BRA) 5-0 Exa Ysaty (PAR) – Group B
Stein Cascavel, who had already secured qualification before the fifth matchday, claimed another victory to strengthen their position at the top of the group.
The first half was dominated by the Brazilian side. Goals from Duda Moraes, Amanda Kevini, Luana Mendes and Marina Loures gave Marcio Coelho's team a commanding four-goal lead at the break.
The second half followed a different pattern, with several changes to the line-up as Stein began looking ahead to the Knockout Stage. However, that did not prevent Loures from getting her second goal of the match and completing the scoring. This time, she was set up by Giovanna Karine after another effective attacking combination.
Stein will be back in action on Friday at 19:30 local time, as they look to secure another appearance in the semi-finals of the continent's leading club competition.
Víctor Muriel (BOL) 1-1 Caracas FC (VEN) – Group A
Víctor Muriel and Caracas FC met in the third fixture of the day, with third place in Group A at stake. The Venezuelan side made the brighter start: midway through the first half, Adrianny Luna won possession in the opposition half and fired a left-footed effort into the corner to put Caracas ahead.
Víctor Muriel captain María Gálvez equalised with a stunning goal from the halfway line. Spotting Deiberlin Hernández off her line on the left-hand side, she produced an audacious effort over the goalkeeper to bring the scores level.
Paula Valencia, the goalkeeper for the Bolivian side, prevented Muriel from suffering defeat with two crucial saves in the closing stages. Alejandro Muriel Villarroel's team finished third and will face Exa Ysaty in the fifth-place play-off.
Ferro Carril Oeste (ARG) 2-0 Peñarol (URU) – Group A
In the final match of the day, Ferro Carril Oeste secured a crucial victory in their pursuit of the title, defeating Peñarol 2-0 to finish top of Group A.
With five minutes remaining in the first half, the Argentine side finally broke the deadlock. Lucía Rossi fired from the left following a quick corner routine. Sofía Chávez reacted first to the rebound, showed great awareness to get ahead of her marker and finished with the outside of her foot into the far corner, breaking the deadlock in a closely contested encounter.
The goal allowed El Verde to impose their style of play. Seconds before the half-time buzzer, a three-player combination extended the home side's lead: Mariana Cepeda found Julia Ponce, who set up Rocío Díaz for a delicate finish that sparked celebrations inside the Estadio Multideportivo.
Nicolás Basualdo's team managed to nullify the Uruguayan side's threat, held on to their two-goal advantage and secured their place in the next round in their first-ever appearance in an international competition.
