- Independiente Santa Fe fought back from two goals down against Palmeiras before securing their place in the semi-finals on penalties, with Jimena Ospina playing a starring role.
- Corinthians defeated Independiente del Valle 5-0, with braces from Gabi Zanotti and Vic Albuquerque, and will face the Colombian side for a place in the final.
The first two semi-finalists of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina 2026 have been confirmed. Independiente Santa Fe and Corinthians came through their respective quarter-final ties at Estadio Banco Guayaquil and will meet on Wednesday, 28 October, with a place in the final at stake.
The Colombians recovered from a 2-0 deficit against Palmeiras, drawing level late on before sealing their progress in a penalty shoot-out. The Brazilians, meanwhile, settled their encounter with Independiente del Valle with five second-half goals. The semi-final will reunite two sides who met in Group A, where Corinthians claimed a 5-1 victory.
Palmeiras 2-2 Independiente Santa Fe — Santa Fe won 3-2 on penalties
Independiente Santa Fe kept believing until the very end and were rewarded. The Colombian side fought back from two goals down to eliminate Palmeiras in a penalty shoot-out, with Jimena Ospina the hero and Kelly Ibargüen converting the decisive spot-kick.
Palmeiras struck early through a long-range effort from Brena Carolina. Santa Fe pushed for an equaliser but were thwarted by Natascha, whose saves preserved the Brazilian side’s lead until half-time. After the break, Raíssa Bahia doubled the advantage with a finish that appeared to put Rosana Augusto’s team firmly on course for the semi-finals.
The Colombians, however, kept pressing. Mariana Zamorano pulled a goal back in the 69th minute following a cross from Katherine Valbuena and María José Torres’ involvement in the move. With time running out, Zamorano then delivered the corner that Juana Ortegón headed home to make it 2-2 and send the match to penalties.
Ospina saved two spot-kicks in the shoot-out as Santa Fe prevailed 3-2. Cristina Motta, Zamorano and Ibargüen all converted for the ‘Leonas’, who sealed their progress in dramatic fashion and remain in the hunt for ‘The Glory is Theirs’.
The match in numbers
- Since 2022, Santa Fe have avoided defeat in four CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina matches after conceding the opening goal, the joint-highest total alongside Dragonas IDV and Deportivo Cali.
- Fê Palermo is the sixth Palmeiras defender to register an assist in a CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina match since at least 2022. Only Corinthians (7) have had more defenders provide assists in the competition during that period.
- Palmeiras goalkeeper Natascha made four first-half saves against Santa Fe to preserve her side’s lead at the break. That is the highest first-half tally by a goalkeeper representing a Brazilian team in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina since Kaka made six for Santos against Boca Juniors in 2024.
- Santa Fe have scored at least once in each of the last three CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina matches in which they conceded first, all in this year’s edition. They also remained unbeaten across those games (W2 D1).
- Mariana Zamorano has been directly involved in six of Santa Fe’s eight goals at the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina 2026. The No7 in Omar Ramírez’s side has registered four goals and two assists in the tournament.
- Santa Fe’s Mariana Zamorano has provided two assists from set pieces in this edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina, against Palmeiras in this match and against Caracas, both after the 89th minute.
- Palmeiras scored two of their three goals featuring the longest passing sequences in this year’s CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina during this match: Raíssa Bahia’s goal followed six passes and Brena Carolina’s five. Only their goal against Belgrano in the 36th minute involved more passes in the build-up (12).
- Santa Fe’s Mariana Zamorano reached eight CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina goals, putting her joint-fourth alongside three other players among the competition’s leading scorers over the past five years. Only Mary Valencia (11), Bia Zaneratto (12) and Gabi Zanotti (14) have scored more during that period.
Corinthians 5-0 Independiente del Valle
Corinthians secured their place in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina semi-finals with a commanding second-half display. After a goalless opening period, the defending champions showcased their attacking firepower to defeat Independiente del Valle 5-0: Duda Sampaio opened the scoring before braces from Vic Albuquerque and Gabi Zanotti completed the rout at Estadio Banco Guayaquil.
The Ecuadorian side, who had progressed unbeaten as Group B runners-up, kept the scores level throughout the opening 45 minutes. They entered the match having beaten Universitario and drawn with Belgrano and Palmeiras. Against Corinthians, Nicole Charcopa had a goal ruled out for offside, while the Brazilians also celebrated a Belén Aquino effort that was subsequently disallowed following a VAR review.
The breakthrough came early in the second half, when Duda Sampaio put Corinthians ahead before Albuquerque doubled the lead shortly afterwards. The Brazilian side built on that momentum to take control of the tie: Zanotti added the third, and Albuquerque struck again to complete her brace. In stoppage time, Zanotti scored her second to seal the 5-0 victory.
The result extended a perfect campaign: Corinthians have won all four of their matches, scoring 19 goals and conceding just one. In the group stage, they defeated Colo-Colo 2-0, Caracas 7-0 and Independiente Santa Fe 5-1. Their quarter-final victory also brought a third clean sheet of the tournament.
They will now face Santa Fe again, this time with a place in the final at stake. Champions of the last three editions, Corinthians will look to take another step towards a fourth consecutive crown and a seventh continental title overall. The quarter-finals conclude on Sunday, 25 October, with Deportivo Cali–Olimpia and Cruzeiro–Libertad, which will determine the line-up for the other semi-final.
The match in numbers
- Corinthians recorded their 15th win outside the group stage of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina, surpassing Ferroviária’s tally of nine victories in those rounds.
- This was Corinthians’ biggest win in the knockout stages of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina since their 8-0 victory over Nacional in the 2021 semi-finals.
- Just one minute and one second separated Corinthians’ first and second goals against Dragonas IDV, scored by Duda Sampaio and Vic Albuquerque. It was the shortest gap between two goals in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina across the last five editions.
- Corinthians’ Vic Albuquerque was directly involved in three goals against Dragonas IDV (two goals and one assist). She is only the second Corinthians player to achieve that tally in a CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina knockout match across the last five editions, alongside Gabi Zanotti, who scored a hat-trick against Boca Juniors last year.
- Corinthians’ Vic Albuquerque reached 24 CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina goals to become the competition’s third-highest scorer of all time, overtaking Ysaura Viso (23). Only Cristiane (29) and Cata Usme (34) have scored more.
- IDV outperformed Corinthians in both shots (8 to 4) and expected goals (0.76 to 0.10 xG) in the first half. It was only the third time across the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina that a team had bettered Corinthians in both categories in an opening half, after Internacional in 2023 and Deportivo Cali in 2022.
- IDV’s starting line-up against Corinthians had an average age of 25 years and 206 days. In 16 of their 17 CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina matches, the Dragonas have fielded a starting XI with an average age below 26. The sole exception was their meeting with Palmeiras in 2022 (26 years and 77 days).
