- The ‘Millonario’ side qualified for the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Round of 16 as the competition’s second-best group winner.
- With their current form contrasting sharply with the first half of the year, Eduardo Coudet’s team will face Independiente Santa Fe as they look to advance and put their campaign back on track.
The 2014 CONMEBOL Sudamericana champions produced an impressive group-stage campaign. River recorded four victories — two at home and two away — remained unbeaten and conceded only three goals, the second-best defensive record in the competition behind São Paulo, who allowed just one.
In their opening match against Blooming, River rescued a valuable draw despite playing with ten men on a night when several heroes of the club’s 2014 triumph were in attendance. They then put together three important victories: against Carabobo FC in Núñez, away to Bragantino with Santiago Beltrán as the standout performer, and once again against the Venezuelan side at the Estadio Misael Delgado.
A draw with Bragantino at the Más Monumental left qualification for the Round of 16 in doubt, but River eventually secured their place with a convincing victory over Blooming, inspired by several young players developed in the club’s academy.
The statistics underline River’s difficult domestic form. They have suffered five consecutive league defeats, a negative run the club had not endured since 1911, and the second half of the season has begun as an uphill struggle for Coudet’s side.
With a renewed squad strengthened by two 2022 World Cup winners in Nicolás Otamendi, the team’s new captain, and Ángel Correa, the tie against Independiente Santa Fe now represents a vital turning point. In Núñez, the objective is clear: overcome a difficult period and revive the dream of lifting the Gran Conquista once again.
River Plate in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Results and Schedule
Group H
Matchday 1: Blooming 1-1 River Plate
Goals: Antony Vásquez (53') / Sebastián Driussi (35')
Matchday 2: River Plate 1-0 Carabobo FC
Goal: Sebastián Driussi (66')
Matchday 3: RB Bragantino 0-1 River Plate
Goal: Lucas Martínez Quarta (90+3')
Matchday 4: Carabobo FC 1-2 River Plate
Goals: Matías Núñez (77') / Maximiliano Meza (59') and Maximiliano Salas (90+6')
Matchday 5: River Plate 1-1 RB Bragantino
Goals: Lautaro Pereyra (90+3') / Alix Vinicius (35')
Matchday 6: River Plate 3-0 Blooming
Goals: Maximiliano Salas (57'), Fausto Vera (72', penalty) and Lucas Silva (84')
Round of 16
First Leg: Independiente Santa Fe vs. River Plate
Wednesday, August 12, at 7:30 p.m. local time
El Campín Stadium, Bogotá
Second Leg: River Plate vs. Independiente Santa Fe
Wednesday, August 19, at 9:30 p.m. local time
Monumental Stadium, Buenos Aires
River Plate Head Coach in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Eduardo Coudet
The 51-year-old coach took charge of River Plate — a club he represented across two spells as a player — in March of the current season. His tenure began in highly encouraging fashion, with eight victories and just one defeat in his first ten matches.
Although his side rarely produced their most fluent football, with the exception of the 3-0 victory over Blooming in the final group-stage match, they proved highly effective. Coudet alternated between a more traditional 4-4-2 formation away from home and a 4-2-3-1 system at the Monumental, an approach that delivered results and allowed River to qualify for the Round of 16 as one of the competition’s best group winners.
The victory over the Bolivian side, which came after the defeat to Belgrano in the domestic tournament final, remains River’s most recent win during a difficult start to the second half of the season — a run they will need to reverse if they are to continue progressing in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
Full River Plate Squad for the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana
Goalkeepers: 33. Ezequiel Centurion - 41. Santiago Beltran - 42. Franco Jaroszewicz.
Defenders: 2. Tobias Ramirez - 5. Juan Portillo - 13. Lautaro Rivero - 21. Marcos Acuña - 28. Lucas Martinez - 29. Gonzalo Montiel - 30. Nicolas Otamendi - 31. Facundo Gonzalez - 40. Lucas Obregon - 43. Valentin Lucero - 46. Lucas Flores - 48. Angel Susano - 53. Thiago Salvatierra.
Midfielders: 6. Anibal Moreno - 15. Fausto Vera - 24. Juan Meza - 26. Tomas Galvan - 27. Santiago Joaquin Espindola - 37. Thiago Acosta - 44. Lucas Silva - 45. Maximiliano Soria.
Forwards: 9. Sebastian Driussi - 10. Angel Correa - 11. Facundo Colidio - 19. Rafael Borre - 25. Lautaro Pereyra - 32. Agustin Ruberto - 35. Joaquin Freitas - 47. Felipe Esquivel - 52. Jonathan Spiff.
River Plate’s Key Player in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Santiago Beltrán
The emergence of the young goalkeeper has been one of the most encouraging developments of the season for ‘La Banda’. After following an unusual path to the professional game, Beltrán was handed his opportunity in River Plate’s first team by circumstance and quickly made one of South American football’s most demanding positions his own.
Displaying composure and authority well beyond his years, Beltrán delivered when his team needed him most. He excelled in the 1-1 draw against Blooming, kept three clean sheets and saved a penalty from Sasha in Brazil during the 1-0 away victory over RB Bragantino.
Following Franco Armani’s outstanding and trophy-laden spell at the club, River appear to have found his ideal successor in Beltrán.
River Plate’s Top Scorer in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Sebastián Driussi
The forward, a product of River Plate’s youth academy, was one of the main architects of the club’s impressive group-stage campaign. He opened the scoring in the draw against Blooming in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and netted the only goal in the Matchday 2 victory over Carabobo, a result that set River on course during the opening phase.
Injuries and a lack of continuity were the main reasons why the striker, who was part of the squad that won the 2014 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, was unable to make an even greater impact in the matches that followed. His recovery from the right calf tear he suffered during pre-season could allow him to return just in time for the tie against Independiente Santa Fe.
River Plate’s X-Factor in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Joaquín Freitas
The young forward showed in only a handful of matches that he could become the game-changing option in Eduardo Coudet’s attack. Although he has yet to score, his influence remains valuable because he brings freshness, fearlessness and, above all, versatility to a forward line filled with high-profile names.
At just 19, he earned a place in the squad and featured in five of River Plate’s six group-stage matches. The club’s major additions during the transfer window may make it more difficult for the San Fernando native to enjoy the same continuity in the starting line-up, but his adaptability could prove decisive in helping him carve out a different role on the pitch.
River Plate’s History in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana
The Argentine giants know what it means to celebrate on the international stage. In addition to the four CONMEBOL Libertadores titles in their trophy cabinet — won in 1986, 1996, 2015 and 2018 — River Plate lifted the CONMEBOL Sudamericana in 2014 and also reached the final in 2003, when Manuel Pellegrini’s side lost 4-3 on aggregate to Peru’s Cienciano.
With a rich history and vast experience in South American competition, and buoyed by a strong group-stage campaign, River see the Gran Conquista as the ideal stage on which to turn around a difficult spell.
