- Palmeiras and Fluminense will meet in São Paulo on Wednesday to determine the first finalist of the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores.
- Palmeiras won the first leg 2-1. The Verdão will be looking to reach their second consecutive final in South America's most prestigious club competition after losing the 2025 showpiece to Flamengo.
The all-Brazilian clash will determine the first team to reach the final of the ‘Eternal Glory’, which will take place on 28 November at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. Managed by Abel Ferreira, Palmeiras will be seeking redemption after coming close to lifting the trophy in the previous edition. The Rio de Janeiro side, meanwhile, will be aiming to reach their third final, having lost to LDU Quito in 2008 before beating Boca Juniors to win the title in 2023.
Palmeiras vs. Fluminense
Palmeiras struck first and will now decide the tie on home soil. In the first leg, José Manuel López opened the scoring in the 45th minute of the first half, before Marlon Freitas, a product of Fluminense's youth academy, doubled the lead in the 85th minute. Three minutes into stoppage time, Wesley Natã pulled one back with a header to keep the tie alive. The 'Verdão' became the first visiting team to defeat 'Flu' in a knockout-stage match in the competition and need only a draw at the Nubank Parque on Wednesday to advance. Fluminense must win by one goal to force a penalty shootout or by two to progress outright.
Abel Ferreira's side have made their home ground a fortress in knockout matches. According to Opta, they have won or drawn 21 of their 23 CONMEBOL Libertadores knockout-stage fixtures at the Nubank Parque and have never lost there against Brazilian opposition. They also have an impressive record of protecting first-leg advantages, having progressed from 12 of the 13 ties in which they won the opening match away from home. José Manuel López, with four goals and four assists, leads the team in both categories in this edition, while Jhon Arias, with three goals, has been involved in more sequences ending in a shot than any other Palmeiras player, with 61. In the first leg, Palmeiras opted to sit back and strike quickly on the counterattack, while their defence excelled in the air, winning 67.7% of aerial duels. Carlos Miguel, who has played every minute of their campaign, preserved the advantage with crucial saves from Hulk in a one-on-one situation and an Agustín Canobbio header.
Palmeiras in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: results, squad and fixtures
Fluminense need a performance that defies the historical trend. They have won just two of their eight away matches against Brazilian opponents in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, although one came against Palmeiras themselves, a 2-0 victory in São Paulo in 1971, and the other was a 2-1 win over Internacional in the second leg of the 2023 Semi-finals, on their way to their only title. They have also progressed from four of their last five ties in which they played the second leg away from home. Marcão's side dominated possession in the first leg, recording 70.2% of the ball and completing 192 passes in the final third, the highest figure by any team in a Semi-final or Final since Opta began collecting data in 2013. However, they struggled to turn that control into clear opportunities, with only three of their 11 shots on target. Hulk and Thiago Silva bring experience to a squad that has already come through two tense knockout ties in this edition: against Independiente Rivadavia in the Round of 16 and Platense, whom they eliminated 3-2 on aggregate in the Quarter-finals.
Fluminense in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: results, squad and fixtures
The return leg will once again pit two contrasting styles against each other. Fluminense are the most possession-oriented of the four semi-finalists, with 184 sequences of ten or more passes, an average of 4.5 passes per sequence and a goalkeeper whose distributions travel an average of just 19.2 metres. Palmeiras, meanwhile, have registered more shots, with 191 attempts, 62 of them on target, and press higher up the pitch, recording the lowest PPDA among the four semi-finalists (9.9). They have also found a valuable attacking weapon in set pieces: six of their 17 goals have originated from dead-ball situations, compared with just one for Fluminense.
Match details
- Stadium: Nubank Parque, São Paulo
- Date and kick-off: Wednesday, 21 October, 21:30 (local time)
- Referee: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
- VAR: Andrés Cunha (URU)
The match in numbers
- Palmeiras have won or drawn 21 of their 23 CONMEBOL Libertadores knockout-stage matches at the Nubank Parque (W11 D10 L2), remaining unbeaten against Brazilian opponents (W1 D5).
- Fluminense have won two of their eight CONMEBOL Libertadores away matches against Brazilian opposition (D3 L3), including a 2-0 victory over Palmeiras in the 1971 group stage and a 2-1 win away to Internacional in the second leg of the 2023 Semi-finals.
- Palmeiras have progressed from 12 of the 13 CONMEBOL Libertadores ties in which they won the first leg away from home. The only exception came in the 2019 Quarter-finals against Grêmio, when they played the return leg away from their usual home stadium, losing 2-1 at the Pacaembu.
- Fluminense have advanced from four of their last five CONMEBOL Libertadores ties in which they played the second leg away from home, recording two wins, one draw and two defeats in those matches.
- Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras) has recorded 49 CONMEBOL Libertadores victories and could become just the third coach to reach 50 wins in the competition, after Renato Gaúcho (54) and Marcelo Gallardo (51). Gabriel Ochoa Uribe also has 49 victories, excluding the five wins recorded by his assistant, Tucho Ortíz, in 1988.
- If he features, Gustavo Gómez will make his 91st CONMEBOL Libertadores appearance for Palmeiras, drawing level with Sergio Aquino (Libertad) in third place on the all-time list for most appearances with a single club in the competition. Only Vladimir Soria with Bolívar (93 appearances) and Ever Hugo Almeida with Olimpia (113) rank higher.
- Fluminense completed 192 passes in the final third against Palmeiras in the first leg, the highest figure recorded by any team in a CONMEBOL Libertadores Semi-final or Final since Opta's records began in 2013.
- Palmeiras won 67.7% of aerial duels in the first leg against Fluminense, their second-highest percentage in a CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026 match (68.4% at home to Sporting Cristal). Centre-backs Alexander Barboza (4/4) and Murilo (3/3) won every aerial duel they contested, while 'Flaco' López won more aerial duels than any other player in the match (5/8).
- A product of Fluminense's youth academy, Marlon Freitas (Palmeiras) has won 14 of his 16 career matches against his former club (L2). In the first leg of the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores Semi-finals, he led the Verdão in goals (1), touches in the opposition penalty area (3), chances created (2), successful passes (48), successful passes in the final third (7), ball recoveries (6) and tackles (4).
- At 18 years and 179 days old, Wesley Natã became Fluminense's second-youngest goalscorer in CONMEBOL Libertadores history, behind Kayky in 2021 (17 years and 330 days). He also became the youngest player to score in a Semi-final or Final of the competition in the 21st century, surpassing Bryan Cabezas (19 years and 109 days), who scored for Independiente del Valle against Boca in 2016.
Palmeiras vs Fluminense kits
