- Luis Amaranto Perea will make his international debut as Independiente Medellín head coach.
- Vasco da Gama will look to produce a strong performance on Colombian soil.
Independiente Medellín were competitive in the CONMEBOL Libertadores group stage but ultimately finished third, behind Flamengo and Estudiantes. Vasco da Gama ended Group G of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana as runners-up to Olimpia. The Colombian and Brazilian sides will now battle for a place in the Round of 16, where the winners will face Olimpia.
Both teams arrive with new head coaches. Luis Amaranto Perea, who served as Néstor Lorenzo’s assistant with the Colombia national team during the FIFA World Cup, took charge following the team’s elimination. This will be his third spell as a head coach. “You can never say no to Medellín,” he said through tears at his unveiling. Pedro Emanuel, meanwhile, will make his international debut after overseeing his first match in the defeat by Vitória in the Brasileirão, a result that deepened Vasco’s concerning situation in the relegation zone.
El Poderoso have made a significant number of signings while also confirming around ten departures. DIM brought in several notable players, including Joaquín Varela, Carlos Lucumí, Agustín Martegani, Juan José Córdoba, Jeison Medina and Alfonso Simarra. Among those who left were Francisco Fydriszewski, Francisco Chaverra, Leyser Chaverra, José Ortiz and Daniel Londoño. Vasco have so far added only left-back Paulinho, while Matheus França will be unavailable after returning to England following the end of his loan spell last season.
Match information
Stadium: Atanasio Girardot, Medellín
Date and kick-off time: Wednesday 22 July, 17:00 local time
Referee: Pedro Maza (CHI)
VAR: Fernando Vejar (CHI)
The match in numbers:
- Vasco have won four of their last five matches against Colombian opponents in CONMEBOL competitions, although the most recent came in the 2001 Libertadores. In that edition, they beat América de Cali 3-0 away from home in the group stage.
- Independiente Medellín have progressed from two of their three CONMEBOL knockout ties against Brazilian opposition, including the most recent in the Sudamericana, when they eliminated Santa Cruz in the Round of 16 in 2016. They had previously knocked out Grêmio in the quarter-finals of the 2003 Libertadores before losing to Santos in the semi-finals that same year.
- Independiente Medellín launched 14 direct attacks during the group stage of the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores, the fourth-highest total among all teams. Only Flamengo (15), Junior (16) and Independiente Rivadavia (17) recorded more. DIM scored once from those situations.
- Adson scored three goals for Vasco during the group stage of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana. Only two Cruzmaltino players have bettered that tally in a single edition of the competition: Bernardo, with four in 2011, and Pablo Vegetti, with five in 2025.
- Vasco scored twice from corner-kick situations in their final two matches of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana. In their previous 28 continental fixtures since 2018, they had scored just once from a corner, against Jorge Wilstermann in February 2018.
