- The Uruguayan side have never lost at home in continental competition: 11 matches, ten of them in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
- If they avoid defeat against Atlético Mineiro, they will draw level with Atlético Goianiense as the team with the most home matches in the competition's history without a loss.
"As Uruguayans, we always believe we can". Marcelo Méndez said it after Montevideo City Torque's 3-0 defeat at the Arena MRV, and he completed the thought: "Uruguayan football is full of great feats, I think people know about them too, so we'll see. Maybe next Wednesday one of them can be repeated, or maybe not, but we're going to try". To turn around the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Semifinal against Atlético Mineiro, Torque need to win by three goals to force penalties and by four to reach the Final in Barranquilla. They will try at the venue where they built their strongest argument: they have never lost at home in CONMEBOL competitions.
That makes 11 matches, ten of them in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, where they have seven wins and three draws at home. If they avoid defeat on Wednesday, they will draw level with Atlético Goianiense as the team with the most home matches in the competition's history without a loss. The Brazilian club played 11 times at home between 2012 and 2022 and never lost.
This is how the 'Ciudadano' built their run:
- April 7, 2021, Fénix (0-0). First Stage, at the Centenario: the club's international debut.
- April 21, 2021, Bahia (1-1). Group Stage, at the Parque Viera, with a goal from Franco Pizzichillo.
- May 5, 2021, Guabirá (4-0). Their first home win in the competition, also at the Parque Viera.
- May 11, 2021, Independiente (1-1). The 'Rojo' equalized from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
- February 8, 2022, Barcelona SC (1-1). Their only home match in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, in the First Stage.
- March 3, 2026, Defensor Sporting (1-0). Preliminary Stage, with a goal from Franco Romero.
- April 8, 2026, Grêmio (1-0). Eduardo Agüero sealed a historic win against a three-time champion of South America.
- May 6, 2026, Palestino (1-0). Pizzichillo again, on a night that confirmed their strength at home.
- May 19, 2026, Deportivo Riestra (4-1). The rout that left them on the verge of the Round of 16.
- August 19, 2026, Tigre (2-1). A brace from Salomón Rodríguez and their first-ever place in the Quarterfinals.
- September 17, 2026, Cienciano (3-0). The comeback from the 2-0 defeat in Cusco, with two goals from Salomón Rodríguez and one from Nahuel Da Silva in stoppage time.
Eight of those matches were played at the Centenario, where Torque host their CONMEBOL fixtures, and the three from the 2021 Group Stage at the Parque Viera. In 2026 they won all six of their home matches, scoring 12 goals and conceding two.
The name that stands out most in that run is Salomón Rodríguez. The tournament's top scorer, with seven goals, has netted four of the team's last five home goals, according to Opta, and three of them came in the last ten minutes of the first half: two against Tigre and one against Cienciano. The forward has played 1,077 of the campaign's 1,080 minutes and is part of a core that has barely changed: Franco Torgnascioli, Facundo Silvera, Gary Kagelmacher and Eduardo Agüero have also played more than 1,070.
The Cienciano tie is the closest precedent for what Torque need now. They had lost 2-0 in Cusco and turned it around at the Centenario with a 3-0 win completed 45+2' into the second half. "Today, despite the adversity, since it was the first time we were in the position of having to overturn a result, we did it well and deservedly went through," Méndez said that night.
Semifinal history shows the size of the challenge: according to Opta, in 17 of the 19 cases in which a team won the first leg by three goals or more in CONMEBOL competitions, there was no comeback. The most recent case, however, was one of the exceptions: in 2025, Palmeiras lost 3-0 to Liga de Quito in Ecuador and won the second leg 4-0 in Brazil. At Atlético Mineiro, they know it: "Without a doubt, the tie isn't closed, it's still open. We know how tough it will be there," warned Thiago Borbas, who scored the third goal in the first leg.
Torque arrive at one of the most demanding nights in their history with what brought them this far: a team that barely rotates, a striker in form and a home where no one has beaten them. If they finish unbeaten again on Wednesday, they will equal a record. If they also win by three goals, they will have written one of those feats their coach spoke about.
