- Vasco da Gama, who secured a 1-0 victory at La Bombonera, host Boca Juniors at the Maracanã on Tuesday.
- Montevideo City Torque, who have never lost at home in CONMEBOL competitions, welcome Atlético Mineiro on Wednesday, with the Brazilian side holding a 3-0 advantage from the first leg.
The finalists of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana will be decided this week, with both Brazilian representatives holding the advantage. Vasco da Gama claimed a 1-0 victory at La Bombonera despite playing with ten men from the 64th minute, and will now face Boca Juniors at the Maracanã. Boca are the only team among the four semi-finalists to have previously lifted the trophy. Atlético Mineiro cruised to a 3-0 victory over Montevideo City Torque in Belo Horizonte and now visit a side that have never lost at home in CONMEBOL competitions and already overturned a 2-0 deficit in the Quarter-finals.
The second legs will take place on Tuesday, 20 October, in Rio de Janeiro and Wednesday, 21 October, at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. If the aggregate scores are level, the finalists will be decided by penalty shootouts. The winners will meet in the Final on Saturday, 21 November, at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez in Barranquilla.
Vasco da Gama vs. Boca Juniors
Vasco da Gama returned from Buenos Aires with a historic victory. In the first leg, Adson headed home a cross from Carlos Andrés Gómez in the 25th minute, and the Brazilian side held on for a 1-0 win despite Gómez's dismissal in the 64th minute. It was their first victory over Boca Juniors in CONMEBOL competitions and, according to Opta, only the second time a Brazilian club had beaten the 'Xeneize' away from home in a Semi-final or Final, following Pelé's Santos in 1963. On Tuesday, at the Maracanã, a draw will be enough for the 'Cruzmaltino' to advance. Boca must win by one goal to force a penalty shootout.
Pedro Emanuel's side have built their campaign on defensive solidity. Vasco have kept eight clean sheets in their 13 matches in this edition, with Léo Jardim providing a reliable last line of defence. They have been even more formidable at home, remaining unbeaten and without conceding in their last five home matches in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana. Along the way, they eliminated Independiente Medellín in the Knockout Round Play-offs, Olimpia in the Round of 16 and Independiente Santa Fe in the Quarter-finals, drawing 0-0 in Bogotá before winning 2-0 in Rio de Janeiro. In attack, they can count on Adson, whose five goals have drawn him level with Pablo Vegetti as the club's leading scorer in a single edition of the competition. He has also provided three assists, while Claudio Spinelli has contributed three goals.
Vasco da Gama in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: results, squad and fixtures
Boca Juniors, who entered the CONMEBOL Sudamericana after competing in the CONMEBOL Libertadores group stage, have a historical precedent to draw inspiration from. According to Opta, the last time they lost the home leg of a tie against Brazilian opposition in CONMEBOL competitions was in the 2003 CONMEBOL Libertadores Round of 16, when they went on to beat Paysandú 4-2 in the return leg in Belém and ultimately lifted the trophy. Rodolfo Arruabarrena's side eliminated São Paulo in the Quarter-finals, winning 1-0 at La Bombonera and drawing 1-1 at the MorumBIS. In the first leg against Vasco, without the injured Leandro Paredes, Boca enjoyed 60.5% possession and outshot their opponents 18 to nine, although only two of those attempts were on target. A Lautaro Blanco delivery and a Santiago Ascacíbar shot both struck the woodwork, denying them an equaliser. After gaining a numerical advantage, Boca registered eight shots without reply, but only one was on target. Miguel Merentiel, who scored in the first leg against São Paulo, has three goals in this CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
Boca Juniors in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: results, squad and fixtures
The tie also brings together two contrasting approaches to regaining possession. Across the CONMEBOL Libertadores and CONMEBOL Sudamericana, Boca have recorded 100 ball recoveries within the first 40 metres of the opposition half, 16 of which led to shots. Vasco, with 67 such recoveries, tend to sit deeper: 60.1% of their defensive actions take place in their defensive third, they have made 413 clearances, and their goalkeepers' distributions average 49.9 metres, allowing them to launch quick attacks. Six of their last eight goals in this edition have come from crosses, the very weapon that earned them victory in Buenos Aires.
Match details
- Stadium: Estadio Jornalista Mário Filho (Maracanã), Rio de Janeiro
- Date and kick-off: Tuesday, 20 October, 21:30 (local time)
- Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (VEN)
- VAR: Juan Soto (VEN)
The match in numbers
- Vasco have progressed from five of the six previous CONMEBOL competition ties in which they won the first leg away from home. One of those ties was against Argentine opposition: River Plate in the 2000 Copa Mercosur Semi-finals, when they won 4-1 in Buenos Aires and 1-0 in Rio de Janeiro.
- Vasco are unbeaten and have not conceded in their last five home matches in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana (W4 D1). Furthermore, excluding group-stage fixtures, the 'Cruzmaltino' have lost just one of their last 20 home matches in CONMEBOL competitions, winning 15 and drawing the other four.
- Boca overturned a first-leg deficit the last time they lost at home to Brazilian opposition in a CONMEBOL competition. That happened in the 2003 CONMEBOL Libertadores Round of 16, when they lost 1-0 to Paysandú at La Bombonera before winning the return leg 4-2 in Belém. They subsequently reached the Final and won the title.
- Brazilian teams are unbeaten in their last 13 home knockout-stage matches against Argentine opposition in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (W7 D6). The most recent defeat was Goiás's 2-0 loss to Estudiantes in the 2023 Round of 16.
- If they feature, both Lautaro Blanco and Miguel Merentiel will make their 16th CONMEBOL Sudamericana appearances for Boca, moving ahead of José María Calvo into fifth place on the club's all-time appearance list in the competition. They currently hold the club's records for most victories in the tournament, with nine for the full-back and eight for the striker.
- With his goal in the first leg, Adson drew level with Pablo Vegetti as Vasco's leading scorer in a single CONMEBOL Sudamericana edition, with five goals. He will now look to establish a new club record in the competition.
- Two of the six players who have carried the ball the greatest distance upfield in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana play for Vasco: Robert Renan (882 metres) and Andrés Gómez (849 metres). Both have advanced the ball more than 200 metres further than any Boca player, whose leader is Leonel Flores (620 metres).
- Vasco da Gama coach Pedro Emanuel could become the first Portuguese manager to reach the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Final.
- Sebastián Villa (Boca, 26) and Andrés Gómez (Vasco, 23) are two of the four players with the most ball carries ending in the opposition penalty area since the start of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
- Vasco will play their second CONMEBOL Sudamericana match at the Maracanã. Their only previous appearance at the stadium in the competition came in the first round in 2008, when they defeated Palmeiras 3-1.
Montevideo City Torque vs. Atlético Mineiro
Atlético Mineiro travel to Montevideo with one foot in the Final. In the first leg at the Arena MRV, they defeated Montevideo City Torque 3-0, with goals from Reinier and Bernard in the 37th and 42nd minutes of the first half, respectively, and Thiago Borbas in the 80th minute. History is on their side: according to Opta, in 17 of the 19 previous instances in which a team won the first leg of a CONMEBOL competition Semi-final by three or more goals, the opposition failed to overturn the deficit. The most recent exception, however, serves as a reminder that there is still everything to play for: Palmeiras lost 3-0 to Liga in Quito before turning the tie around with a 4-0 victory in Brazil. On Wednesday, at the Estadio Centenario, Torque must win by three goals to force a penalty shootout.
Marcelo Méndez's side already know what it takes to stage a comeback. In the Quarter-finals, they lost 2-0 to Cienciano in Cusco before turning the tie around with a 3-0 win in Montevideo, thanks in part to two goals from Salomón Rodríguez. They have also never lost a home match in CONMEBOL competitions, remaining unbeaten in 11 fixtures, ten of them in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana. Rodríguez, the competition's leading scorer with seven goals, has scored four of the team's last five home goals, while Franco Torgnascioli, who has played every minute of their campaign, ranks second among goalkeepers for saves in the tournament, with 40. If Torque overturn the deficit, they will become the first Uruguayan club to reach a CONMEBOL Sudamericana Final.
Montevideo City Torque in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: results, squad and fixtures
Atlético Mineiro, last season's runners-up, are aiming to reach their third consecutive continental Final, following their appearances in the 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores and 2025 CONMEBOL Sudamericana showpieces. Eduardo Domínguez's side eliminated Santos on penalties in the Quarter-finals, overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit with a 4-2 victory in Belo Horizonte. They were clinical in the opening leg of this Semi-final, enjoying 65.5% possession and registering 16 shots, eight of them on target. Tomás Cuello, who created the move that led to the opening goal, has three goals and four assists to his name. Bernard, with five goals, is the first Atlético Mineiro player to reach that tally in a single edition of the competition, while Renan Lodi provided the assist for Borbas's third goal. At the back, Gabriel Delfim has started the last three matches and, according to Opta's post-shot expected goals model, the team's goalkeepers have prevented 6.5 goals in this edition, the highest figure among the four semi-finalists.
Atlético Mineiro in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: results, squad and fixtures
The tie brings together two teams at opposite ends of the statistical spectrum. Among the sides that progressed beyond the group stage, Torque have the lowest average number of passes per sequence (2.40), while Atlético Mineiro have the highest (3.88). The 'Ciudadano' play 22.9% of their passes long and have scored four goals from direct attacks and seven from set pieces. The 'Galo', meanwhile, have put together 137 passing sequences of ten or more passes, compared with 49 for their opponents, and have scored four goals from build-up attacks. Those figures could prove decisive in the return leg: Torque need goals, but when drawing or trailing in this edition, they have averaged just 45.2% possession.
Match details
Stadium: Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
Date and kick-off: Wednesday, 21 October, 19:00 (local time)
Referee: Cristian Garay (CHI)
VAR: Diego Flores (CHI)
The match in numbers
- In 17 of the 19 previous instances in which a team won the first leg of a CONMEBOL competition Semi-final by at least three goals, the opposition failed to overturn the deficit in the return leg. One of the exceptions came in the most recent such case, when Palmeiras lost 3-0 to LDU Quito in Ecuador before winning the second leg 4-0 in Brazil.
- City Torque have never lost a home match in CONMEBOL competitions, remaining unbeaten in 11 games, ten of them in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana. If they avoid defeat against Atlético Mineiro, they will draw level with Atlético Goianiense for the most matches played in CONMEBOL Sudamericana history without suffering a defeat.
- Atlético Mineiro will be aiming to secure their place in the Final against City Torque. The only previous occasion on which they reached continental finals in three consecutive seasons came in the 1990s: the 1995 Copa CONMEBOL, 1996 Copa Máster de CONMEBOL and 1997 Copa CONMEBOL. The 'Galo' have reached the Finals of the 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores and 2025 CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
- Bernard scored in the first leg against City Torque and became the first Atlético Mineiro player to register five goals in a single edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana. He is also the club's all-time leading scorer in the competition, with eight goals, followed by team-mate Tomás Cuello (5).
- Atlético Mineiro have scored five goals from outside the penalty area in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, including Bernard's strike against City Torque. Since 2013, only one team have surpassed that tally in a single edition of the competition: Athletico Paranaense, with six in 2021.
- Salomón Rodríguez has scored four of City Torque's last five home goals in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana. Three of those came in the final ten minutes of the first half, two against Tigre and one against Cienciano.
- Atlético Mineiro's Tomás Cuello could draw level with Fabricio Bustos (30) for the most wins by a player in CONMEBOL Sudamericana history. The 'Galo' midfielder has recorded 29 victories in 43 appearances in the competition since making his debut in 2017.
- Eduardo Domínguez (Atlético Mineiro) could become the fourth coach to reach two CONMEBOL Sudamericana Finals, following Reinaldo Rueda (2016 and 2017), Luis Zubeldía (2020 and 2023) and Jorge Sampaoli (2011 and 2025). The current 'Galo' coach previously reached the Final with Huracán in 2015.
- Renan Lodi, who has provided assists in his last two CONMEBOL Sudamericana appearances, has been involved in more attacking sequences than any other Atlético Mineiro player in this edition, with 46, at least 15 more than any of his team-mates (Tomás Cuello, 31).
- Among the teams that progressed beyond the group stage of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, City Torque and Atlético Mineiro occupy opposite ends of the rankings for average passes per sequence, with 2.40 and 3.88, respectively.
