- Independiente Santa Fe and Caracas will begin their battle for a place in the Round of 16.
- The winners will face River Plate in the next round.
Independiente Santa Fe reached the play-offs after finishing third in Group E of the CONMEBOL Libertadores, behind Corinthians and Platense. Caracas were runners-up to Botafogo in Group E of the Sudamericana with nine points and remained unbeaten away from home. The winners of the tie will face River Plate in the Round of 16.
Pablo Repetto’s side have built up match practice during pre-season, losing to Real Cundinamarca, winning both friendlies against Patriotas and sharing one victory apiece with Internacional de Bogotá. Caracas confirmed Henry Meléndez as head coach after he secured qualification following Fernando Aristeguieta’s departure, and come into the tie after a 1-1 draw with Aragua in the Copa Venezuela.
Santa Fe signed versatile midfielder Kevin Balanta from Santos Laguna and confirmed the departures of Jersson González, Edwin Mosquera and Yeicar Perlaza. Caracas strengthened their attack with Colombian forward Alejandro Villarreal, a 20-year-old arrival from Aldosivi who can play either as a centre-forward or winger.
Match information
Stadium: Nemesio Camacho El Campín, Bogotá
Date and kick-off time: Thursday 23 July, 19:30 local time
Referee: Guillermo Guerrero (ECU)
VAR: Franklin Congo (ECU)
The match in numbers:
- Santa Fe and Caracas have previously met in two CONMEBOL knockout ties, both of which ended in victories for El León: the semi-finals of the 1999 Copa Merconorte and the second round of the 2010 Sudamericana. The Colombian side have also progressed every time they have faced Venezuelan opposition in a continental knockout tie, doing so on five occasions.
- Caracas are enjoying their longest unbeaten away run in CONMEBOL competitions, having gone three matches without defeat with one win and two draws. That equals the runs they recorded in 1999, with two wins and one draw, and across 2017 and 2018, also with two wins and one draw. El Rojo will now look to go four consecutive continental away matches unbeaten for the first time.
- Caracas opened the scoring in five of their six matches during the group stage of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana. Only Montevideo City Torque did so more often, on six occasions, while River Plate and Tigre also recorded five.
- Santa Fe were one of only two teams not to concede a first-half goal during the group stage of the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores, alongside Rosario Central. All seven goals conceded by El León in that phase came after half-time.
- Santa Fe equalled their highest number of goals from corners in a single continental competition since 2013 during the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores. They scored three times from corner-kick situations, matching their total from the 2016 Libertadores.
