- Vasco da Gama and Boca Juniors will meet in Rio de Janeiro to decide the first finalist of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
- The Brazilian side won the first leg 1-0, with Adson scoring the decisive goal.
The Rio de Janeiro side will be looking to return to an international final after a 26-year wait. Their first-leg advantage is significant, but they face a formidable opponent: Boca, champions in 2004 and 2005, will aim to overturn the aggregate score and claim their third title in the ‘Great Conquest’.
Vasco da Gama v 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 competitionsand, 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.
Vasco da Gama vs Boca Juniors kits
