- Santos, without Neymar or Gabriel Barbosa, will face U.C.V. FC in the Round of 16 play-offs.
- Following their impressive CONMEBOL Libertadores campaign, U.C.V. FC will look to secure a place in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Round of 16.
Following the World Cup break, U.C.V. FC will look to extend the best continental campaign in their history after finishing third in Group H of the CONMEBOL Libertadores. The Venezuelan side collected nine points, behind Independiente del Valle and Rosario Central, who both finished on 13. Santos, meanwhile, ended the CONMEBOL Sudamericana group stage as runners-up to Recoleta in Group D. They secured qualification on the final matchday with a 3-0 victory over Deportivo Cuenca, edging out San Lorenzo on goal difference. The winners will face Macará in the Round of 16.
For Daniel Sasso’s side, rediscovering the form they showed throughout much of the first half of the year will be crucial, having emerged as one of the tournament’s surprise packages. The reigning Venezuelan champions reached the final four-team stage of the Apertura tournament and began that phase with a four-match unbeaten run, but missed out on the decider after consecutive defeats by Academia Puerto Cabello and Portuguesa. “We need to produce a performance close to perfection, almost perfect,” the coach warned ahead of the challenge against Santos.
U.C.V. FC have made several changes to their squad. They brought in defenders Edwin Peraza, Gonzalo Mottes and Steven Pabón, midfielder Williams Lugo and Colombian winger Edwin Mosquera, most recently of Independiente Santa Fe. Among the departures were two of their leading scorers: Juan Manuel Cuesta, who scored three goals in the Libertadores before joining Sporting Cristal, and Jovanny Bolívar, whose loan from Albacete came to an end.
Santos have played just one competitive match since the break, suffering a 2-1 defeat by Botafogo in the Brasileirão. Cuca will have to contend with several absentees for the first leg. Neymar will continue with an individual training programme after featuring at the World Cup, while Gabigol is dealing with an adductor problem. João Schmidt, Willian Arão, Igor Vinícius, Gustavo Henrique and Moisés also did not travel, leaving Álvaro Barreal — who scored against Botafogo — Benjamín Rollheiser, Rony and Gabriel Bontempo as the main attacking options.
Match information
Stadium: Misael Delgado, Valencia
Kick-off time: 20:30
Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL)
VAR: Jorge Justiniano (BOL)
The match in numbers:
- Santos are unbeaten in eight matches against Venezuelan opponents in CONMEBOL competitions, recording three wins and five draws. Six of those games came in knockout rounds, with Peixe progressing from two of their three ties against teams from the country.
- Just 7% of Santos’ passes during the group stage of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana were long, the lowest proportion of any team in the competition. Only one other club recorded a figure below 10% in this category: São Paulo, with 9.4%.
- U.C.V. FC were one of four teams to score more than once following a high turnover during the group stage of the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores, with two goals from recoveries made within the first 40 metres of the opposition half. Platense, Independiente Rivadavia and Bolívar were the others.
- Neymar has not featured in a CONMEBOL knockout tie since September 2012, when he won the Recopa with Santos and scored in the second leg against Universidad de Chile. His only previous Sudamericana knockout tie came in August 2010, when Peixe were eliminated by Avaí in the second round.
- Gabigol, who has scored three goals in his last four appearances for Santos, will face a Venezuelan opponent for the first time in a CONMEBOL competition. The Brazilian striker has already scored against teams from seven different countries in these tournaments, with Peru and Uruguay the only exceptions.
