- The 'Cruzados' will decide at the Claro Arena a tie left 1-1 in La Plata, with their home strength as their endorsement.
- Estudiantes travel to Santiago with the momentum of having dominated the first leg and their history as four-time champions of South America as their backing.
Universidad Católica and Estudiantes will settle in Santiago a tie that remained open after the 1-1 in La Plata, where the 'Pincha' struck early and the 'Cruzados' rescued a draw as the game was dying.
Joaquín Tobio Burgos opened the scoring three minutes into the first half, pouncing on a rebound to score Estudiantes' second-fastest goal in the competition since at least 2013. The La Plata side dominated with conviction and wasted clear chances to extend their lead in the second half, until the law of the goalscorer took over: Fernando Zampedri, with a shot deflected off Santiago Núñez, equalized late and stretched his tally to 19 goals in CONMEBOL competitions in a UC shirt.
Universidad Católica in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026: results, squad and schedule
For the 'Cruzados', who already pulled off a major result in this edition with that historic night at La Bombonera, the return leg at Claro Arena represents a chance to reach the last eight in South America by making the most of their home strength, although they will have to face the decider without Fernando Zampedri, who is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Estudiantes, for their part, travel with the feeling of having deserved more from the first leg and with the momentum of their early goal as an argument: if the La Plata side repeat the dominant version of the first half, they have what it takes to strike in Santiago. The cup pedigree of the 'Pincha', four-time champions of South America, is a credential no level tie can ignore.
Tie level at 1-1: any win means qualification and another draw will send the decider to penalties.
Estudiantes in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026: results, squad and schedule
Match details:
Stadium: Claro Arena, Santiago
Date and time: Tuesday, August 18 at 8:30 p.m. (Chile time)
Referee: Wilmar Roldán (COL)
VAR: David Rodríguez (COL)
Match facts:
- Universidad Católica won two of the three home knockout matches they have played against Argentine opponents in the CONMEBOL Libertadores (L1): against Colón in the 2010 preliminary stage (3-2) and against River in the 1995 round of 16 (2-1). However, their only defeat came precisely against Estudiantes (1-3 in the 1969 semifinal).
- Estudiantes remain unbeaten against Universidad Católica in the CONMEBOL Libertadores (P3, W2 D1). The teams the 'Pincha' have faced most often in the competition without losing are Cusco (P4, W2 D2) and Cerro Porteño (P4, W1 D3).
- Estudiantes have taken points in four of their last five away matches in CONMEBOL Libertadores knockout stages (W2 D2 L1), including a win in Chile against Everton in Phase 3 of 2022 (1-0).
- Of Fernando Zampedri's (Universidad Católica) 18 career goals in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, eight have come from the 70th minute onward, including the equalizer against Estudiantes in the last round. Since 2017, when he debuted in the competition, only Rony (10 goals) has scored more late goals.
- Estudiantes conceded just 0.09 expected goals to Universidad Católica in the first leg, the second-lowest figure allowed by the 'Pincha' in a CONMEBOL Libertadores match since records began (2013).
