- Boca Juniors and Vasco da Gama will meet in CONMEBOL competitions for the first time in 28 years, with the Argentine side holding the upper hand in the head-to-head record.
- The first leg will take place at La Bombonera on Tuesday 13 October, with the return leg scheduled for Tuesday 20 October at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The side managed by Rodolfo Arruabarrena, the only team to have won the trophy in consecutive editions (2004 and 2005), will face Vasco da Gama in CONMEBOL competition for the first time in 28 years. The sides have met four times before, all in 2001, with the 'Xeneize' holding the upper hand: two wins and two draws.
This will be the Argentine side's second tie against Brazilian opposition in the knockout stage of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, having eliminated São Paulo in the quarter-finals on their way to the last four. In the first leg in Buenos Aires, the hosts won 1-0 thanks to a Miguel Merentiel goal. The return leg at the MorumBIS ended 1-1: Uruguayan midfielder Leandro Lozano opened the scoring for the Buenos Aires side on a memorable night for him, before Domingos Duarte equalised for São Paulo.
Boca Juniors in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: results, squad and fixtures
The 'Cruz-Maltino' grew into their continental campaign. They had to work hard to get past Independiente Medellín in the Round of 16 Play-offs, winning 3-2 on aggregate. In the round of 16, they followed a goalless first-leg draw with a commanding 4-1 victory over Olimpia in the return fixture. Their final opponents before reaching the semi-finals were Independiente Santa Fe.
Against the Colombian side, Vasco showed defensive solidity, with Léo Jardim outstanding in goal — keeping a clean sheet in seven of the team's 12 matches in this year's CONMEBOL Sudamericana — while their main attacking options provided a goal threat and Santiago Sosa supplied the balance they had been seeking in midfield. After a goalless draw in the first leg against 'El León', Vasco won the return fixture 2-0 through goals from Bruno Duarte and David.
Vasco da Gama in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: results, squad and fixtures
Match details:
Stadium: Alberto J. Armando, 'La Bombonera', Buenos Aires
Date and kick-off: Tuesday 13 October, 9.30pm.
Referee: Piero Maza (CHI)
VAR: José Cabero (CHI)
The match in numbers:
- Boca will contest their 10th semi-final tie against Brazilian opposition in CONMEBOL competitions. The 'Xeneize' reached the Final in seven of the previous nine, including their only Sudamericana semi-final against Internacional in 2004.
- Boca and Vasco have met four times in CONMEBOL competitions, all in 2001, and the 'Xeneize' remain unbeaten in the head-to-head record: two wins in the Libertadores and two draws in the Copa Mercosur.
- Vasco have played two semi-final ties against Argentine sides in CONMEBOL competitions, both against River Plate. The 'Cruz-Maltino' progressed on both occasions, in the 1998 Libertadores and the 2000 Copa Mercosur.
- Boca have lost just one of their last 21 home matches in the knockout stages of CONMEBOL competitions, winning each of their six most recent games. Their only defeat in that run came against Brazilian opposition, a 1-0 loss to Internacional in the 2020 Libertadores round of 16.
- Having played just five matches in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, Leandro Paredes ranks eighth for involvement in sequences ending in a shot, excluding set-pieces, with 44. Every other player in the top 10 for this metric has played at least nine matches in this year's competition.
- Vasco (27) and Boca (19) are two of the three teams to have made the most direct attacks in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana so far. However, the 'Xeneize' have played half as many matches in the competition (six) as the 'Cruz-Maltino' (12). Both sides have scored twice from these attacks.
- Vasco have kept a clean sheet in seven of their 12 matches in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana. The record for clean sheets in a single edition belongs to Estudiantes, who kept nine in 2023.
- Andrés Gómez (Vasco) and Sebastián Villa (Boca) are among the five players to have completed the most ball carries into the opposition penalty area since the start of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, with 21 and 20 respectively.
- Eight of Boca's last 11 home goals in all competitions have come in the second half. Leonel Flores scored three of those eight, including a brace in his most recent appearance at La Bombonera against Unión in the Argentine Professional League.
- Three of Vasco's nine away goals in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana have been scored by Claudio Spinelli. The Argentine forward has already scored at La Bombonera, when he was playing for San Martín de San Juan in 2018.
