- ‘El Calamar’ drew 0-0 in Chile and prevailed 7-6 on penalties after the 1-1 draw in Vicente López.
- Juan Pablo Cozzani converted his own spot kick and then saved the final attempt to complete a historic qualification for the CONMEBOL Libertadores Quarterfinals.
Platense continue to make history in their unforgettable first international campaign. From the neighborhood to the continent, as the slogan of their run goes, ‘El Calamar’ have reached the CONMEBOL Libertadores Quarterfinals. The Argentine side held Coquimbo Unido to a goalless draw at the Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso Stadium and were flawless from the spot in a lengthy penalty shootout to eliminate the Chilean team. Juan Pablo Cozzani stepped up to make it 6-6 with his own penalty before saving Salvador Cordero’s attempt to bring the shootout to an end.
After the draw Coquimbo earned in Buenos Aires — a positive result after a match in which they had fallen behind and could have conceded a second when Guido Mainero failed to convert the penalty that would have made it 2-0 — Platense looked to establish themselves in the opposition half from the opening stages of their visit to Chile.
Coquimbo’s initial approach was to make the most of the pace of their forwards whenever they regained possession. Lucas Pratto had the hosts’ first significant chance with a header that went narrowly wide, but an injury forced the striker off after 26 minutes of the first half, with Nicolás Johansen coming on in his place.
Coquimbo then enjoyed their best spell of the match. Sebastián Galani began to find space in advanced positions, while Guido Vadalá, who scored the dramatic equaliser in Argentina, found room inside the penalty area to test Cozzani. The goalkeeper responded confidently, offering an early glimpse of what would become a heroic night, and shortly afterwards watched another effort from the Chilean side sail over the crossbar.
Platense also had opportunities to break the deadlock before half-time. Nicolás Retamar found himself in a promising position after an uncertain piece of goalkeeping from Diego Sánchez but was unable to make the most of it, while Pablo Ferreira tested the goalkeeper with a shot from outside the box. The 0-0 scoreline at the end of the first half reflected the tight nature of the tie, with every attack beginning to carry the weight of potential qualification: in such a finely balanced contest, any mistake could prove decisive.
The contest became even more cautious after the break. Backed by their home crowd, Coquimbo looked to take the initiative, but Platense defended their penalty area with discipline and found reliable responses from Víctor Cuesta, Santiago Quirós and Cozzani. Martín Palermo — who since returning to the club has beaten Independiente, drawn with Boca and now guided the team into the Quarterfinals — refreshed his attack by introducing Juan Gauto, Franco Zapiola and Nicolás López, while Hernán Caputto turned to Alejandro Azócar in search of a breakthrough in the final third.
The clearest chances came as the match approached its conclusion. Sánchez pushed away a free kick from Zapiola, while Nicolás López came agonisingly close to settling the tie when his effort struck the crossbar. At the other end, Azócar was unable to make clean contact with a ball that flashed across the visitors’ penalty area. With the teams still level after 180 minutes, the tie had to be decided from the penalty spot.
The shootout was remarkably precise. Agustín Lagos, Mateo Mendía, Nicolás López, Luciano Giménez, Franco Zapiola and Cozzani himself converted Platense’s first six penalties. Coquimbo responded through Galani, Johansen, Elvis Hernández, Juan Cornejo, Diego Sánchez and Azócar. Neither side had missed when the seventh round began.
Martín Barrios restored ‘El Calamar’s’ advantage with an effort that just found its way into the net, shifting all the pressure onto Cordero. The midfielder opted for a low strike, but Cozzani read the direction and made the save to spark the visitors’ celebrations. The goalkeeper, who had left for Saudi Arabian football after winning the Argentine top-flight title with the club, returned to once again embrace the role of hero.
Platense, making their first-ever appearance in international competition, are now among the eight best teams on the continent. After coming through an extremely tight tie and once again showing their strength away from Vicente López, Martín Palermo’s side will face Fluminense for a place in the Semifinals.
The match in numbers
- Platense became the first Argentine team to reach the CONMEBOL Libertadores Quarterfinals in their debut campaign since Banfield in 2005, when they were eliminated by River Plate.
- Platense are the first Argentine team in CONMEBOL Libertadores history to eliminate a Chilean side in a penalty shootout. Colón de Santa Fe lost 5-3 on penalties to Universidad Católica in 2010.
- Argentine teams remain unbeaten in their five away matches against Coquimbo Unido in CONMEBOL competitions (W3 D2). This was the second draw, with both ending 0-0: Defensa y Justicia in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana in 2021 and Platense in the CONMEBOL Libertadores in 2026.
- Platense recorded the first goalless draw of their brief history in CONMEBOL competitions, all eight of their matches having come in the Libertadores (W3 D3 L2).
- Platense had 59.9% possession against Coquimbo Unido, their highest figure in a single CONMEBOL Libertadores match.
- Francisco Salinas made seven interceptions against Platense, the most by a Coquimbo Unido player and by any Chilean player in a CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026 match.
