- The young Tigre forward scored his first goal in the Matador shirt.
- His finish proved decisive on a night that had become complicated for the Buenos Aires side.
The emotion was immediate, and so was the release. Tigre suddenly found themselves facing an unexpected scenario: after winning 3-0 at the Gran Parque Central, Nacional mounted a surprising first-half comeback in Victoria. Goals from Maximiliano Gómez and Maximiliano Silvera, El Bolso’s attacking duo, had turned certainty into doubt. Jorge Bava’s side needed just one more goal to force a penalty shootout, but Tigre had responded with a strong performance, even though they were still unable to pull one back and restore some calm.
With ten minutes remaining, coach Diego Dabove made the surprising decision to take off Gonzalo Martínez and Jabes Saralegui. ‘Pity’ had been the team’s creative leader and had generated several dangerous situations, while Saralegui, wearing the No. 10 shirt, had repeatedly found ways to make a difference. But Dabove kept Santi López, the 20-year-old forward developed at Independiente de Avellaneda, on the pitch — and time would prove him right.
A minute later, in the 37th minute of the second half, left-back Nahuel Banegas won the ball back and, operating in a playmaker’s position, slipped a pass between the lines to send López through. With the opposing defenders desperately chasing him, the young forward never broke stride and finished perfectly first time, placing his shot beyond goalkeeper Alexis Martín Arias.
The goal sparked an emotional celebration in Victoria. Tigre had pulled one back on the night and moved 4-2 ahead on aggregate, a strike that appeared to seal their place in the Round of 16. López celebrated before being overcome by emotion, creating an unforgettable image as he broke down in tears amid the hugs and applause of his teammates — especially ‘Pity’ Martínez, now one of the team’s leaders, who celebrated from the bench.
It was López’s first goal since joining Tigre in January 2026. Born on February 9, 2006, in the province of Córdoba, López emerged as one of the most promising talents from Independiente’s youth academy. Particularly impressive at youth international level, he was one of Argentina’s standout players at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, where the national team reached the semifinals before losing to Germany on penalties.
During his early days with El Rojo, López introduced himself as “a winger or an attacking midfielder. I like dropping deeper to get on the ball, but I also feel comfortable playing further forward.” In Avellaneda, he suffered a knee injury that halted his progress and, after finding playing time hard to come by, he was sent on loan to Rosario Central, where he once again showed his talent during 2025. In January 2026, with four goals in 48 appearances to his name in the early stages of his career, he joined El Matador on loan.
At Tigre, López found the consistent playing time he had been looking for under Diego Dabove, but one thing was still missing: a goal. And it finally arrived on the night that mattered most, just when his team needed it. Earlier, he had narrowly missed a one-on-one opportunity and had a goal ruled out for offside following an excellent ball from teammate Ignacio Russo.
At 20 years and 169 days, López became the second-youngest player to score for Tigre in CONMEBOL competitions, behind only Diego Ftacla, who found the net in the 2012 edition at 20 years and 74 days old. Now an unlikely young hero, López has given Victoria reason to dream of going even further than Tigre’s 2012 CONMEBOL Sudamericana campaign, when the club reached the final.
