- Boca Juniors, São Paulo, Atlético Mineiro, Montevideo City Torque, Santos, Vasco da Gama and Cienciano secured their places among the final eight teams in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
- Independiente Santa Fe and River Plate played out a goalless draw in Bogotá and will decide the final Quarter-final berth on Wednesday, August 26, in Buenos Aires.
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana now has seven of its eight Quarter-finalists confirmed. The decisive week featured emphatic away wins, ties settled in extra time, teams protecting advantages earned in the first leg, and one qualification built on a historic result.
Boca Juniors, São Paulo, Atlético Mineiro, Montevideo City Torque, Santos, Vasco da Gama and Cienciano will continue their journey towards ‘The Great Conquest’. The bracket will be completed on Wednesday, August 26, when River Plate host Independiente Santa Fe following the 0-0 draw in the opening match of their rescheduled tie.
Recoleta 0-4 Boca Juniors (1-7 on aggregate)
Boca Juniors arrived in Paraguay with a two-goal advantage and turned their qualification into a commanding display of finishing. Santiago Ascacibar opened the scoring in the 30th minute, before Sebastián Villa doubled the lead ahead of half-time after pouncing on the rebound from an initial effort saved by Nelson Ferreira.
Miguel Merentiel added the third early in the second half, and Alan Velasco completed the rout with a powerful strike. Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s side wrapped up the tie with a 7-1 aggregate victory and advanced to the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Quarter-finals for the sixth time. Their next opponents will be São Paulo.
São Paulo 3-1 Bolívar (4-2 on aggregate)
After earning a draw at altitude in La Paz, São Paulo made the most of home advantage to take control of the second leg. Luciano got in front of his marker inside the box to meet a cross from Danielzinho and make it 1-0 in the first half.
Bolívar drew level through a superb strike from Dairon Asprilla outside the box, but the Brazilian side responded quickly. Jonathan Calleri converted a penalty to restore the lead, before Sabino sealed the 3-1 victory with a header from a corner. The 4-2 aggregate result set up a Quarter-final clash steeped in continental tradition against Boca Juniors.
Atlético Mineiro 2-2 Red Bull Bragantino (3-2 on aggregate)
Bragantino came close to overturning their first-leg defeat at home. Eric Ramires opened the scoring before half-time, and Eduardo Sasha restored the visitors’ lead in the second half after Maycon had scored a temporary equalizer for Atlético Mineiro.
At 2-1, the tie was heading to penalties, but Tomás Cuello proved decisive once again. The Argentine won possession high up the pitch in stoppage time, drove into the box and made it 2-2. Having also scored the only goal of the first leg, he was directly involved in two of the three goals that sent ‘El Galo’ through to the Quarter-finals, where they will face Santos.
Independiente Santa Fe 0-0 River Plate: the tie still to be decided
The rescheduled tie began with a goalless draw in Bogotá. Independiente Santa Fe took the initiative for much of the match and created the better chances through Nahuel Bustos and Hugo Rodallega, but Santiago Beltrán produced a composed performance in goal.
River Plate, who saw Thiago Almada make his debut in the competition, managed to preserve the draw despite creating few opportunities in attack and will now decide the tie on home soil. The two sides will meet again on Wednesday, August 26, at the Más Monumental, with the winner set to face Vasco da Gama in the Quarter-finals.
Montevideo City Torque 2-1 Tigre (3-1 on aggregate)
Tigre initially faced the task of overturning the 1-0 defeat suffered in Argentina, but Montevideo City Torque struck again through Salomón Rodríguez. The striker opened the scoring in the 39th minute and, although Valentín Moreno quickly equalized, he restored City Torque’s lead from the penalty spot before half-time.
The incident that led to the second goal also resulted in Nahuel Banegas being sent off, leaving the visitors with ten men for the entire second half. City Torque managed their advantage, preserved their unbeaten record at the Estadio Centenario and completed a 3-1 aggregate victory. The Uruguayan side will play in the Quarter-finals of a CONMEBOL competition for the first time, where they will face Cienciano.
Macará 0-0 Santos (1-2 on aggregate)
Without Neymar or Gabriel Barbosa in the squad, Santos travelled to the altitude of Ambato looking to protect the 2-1 advantage earned at Vila Belmiro. Macará controlled possession, repeatedly attacked down the flanks and pushed until stoppage time, but were unable to add enough precision to their attempts.
The Brazilian side defended deep around Gabriel Brazão, closed down the spaces inside the box and held on for a goalless draw. The result sent Santos through to the Quarter-finals and brought an end to the best international campaign in Macará’s history, after they had finished unbeaten and top of their group. Atlético Mineiro will be ‘Peixe’s’ next opponents.
Olimpia 1-4 Vasco da Gama (1-4 on aggregate)
Olimpia appeared to find the momentum they needed when Esteban Matus opened the scoring with a long-range strike. The Paraguayan side’s lead, however, lasted only 14 minutes: Thiago Mendes combined with David and equalized with a lifted finish.
Vasco completed the turnaround before half-time through David himself and turned their superiority into a rout after the break. Adson added the third before Claudio Spinelli completed the 4-1 victory. The Rio de Janeiro side, who had dominated without reward in the 0-0 first leg, advanced to face the winner of Independiente Santa Fe-River Plate.
Botafogo 1-0 Cienciano (2-6 on aggregate)
Botafogo needed an extraordinary comeback after their 6-1 defeat in Cusco and briefly raised hopes of one when Danilo Pereira opened the scoring in the eighth minute. The Brazilian side dominated possession and found the net again before half-time, although the second goal was ruled out for a handball by the striker himself.
Cienciano managed to take the intensity out of the game and protect the advantage they had built at the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. The narrow defeat did not put their qualification at risk: the 2003 champions won the tie 6-2 on aggregate and returned to the Quarter-finals of the competition that shaped their history. Montevideo City Torque will be their next opponents.
