Three Brazilian Clubs and Estudiantes Reach Libertadores Semis

The line-up for the 2026 Copa Libertadores semi-finals was completed on 17 September, when Flamengo drew 1-1 with Independiente del Valle at the Maracanã and advanced 3-1 on aggregate. CONMEBOL confirmed the last four as Brazilian clubs Fluminense, Palmeiras and Flamengo, together with Estudiantes de La Plata of Argentina.

Flamengo's night was more awkward than the aggregate score suggests. Djorkaeff Reasco put the Ecuadorian visitors in front in the first half, and the hosts played the closing half-hour with ten men after Jorginho was sent off for a second yellow card in the 64th minute. Giorgian de Arrascaeta equalised late in the second half to settle the tie.

The previous evening in Quito produced the drama of the round. Palmeiras carried a 1-0 lead into the second leg but lost that match 3-2 to LDU Quito, Michael Estrada scoring in the 90th minute and again in stoppage time to level the tie at 3-3. Palmeiras won the shootout 4-3, with CONMEBOL reporting that goalkeeper Carlos Miguel saved from Lucas Rodríguez and Luis Segovia.

Estudiantes knocked out Corinthians 2-1 on aggregate, Alexis Castro scoring in the 88th minute in São Paulo after a 1-1 draw in La Plata; the Argentine outlet Infobae reported that Memphis Depay missed a penalty for Corinthians in the closing minutes. Fluminense completed the four, losing 2-1 away to Platense on 16 September but going through 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-0 home win, with Agustín Canobbio scoring the goal CONMEBOL described as decisive.

The quarter-final first legs were played on 8 and 9 September and the return matches on 16 and 17 September. CONMEBOL credited Flamengo goalkeeper Agustín Rossi with the assist for De Arrascaeta's equaliser, singled out Hulk as the player who set up Canobbio's goal in Argentina, and described Carlos Miguel as the man who kept Palmeiras alive in Quito.

Why it matters: three of the four surviving clubs are Brazilian, and the Fluminense-Palmeiras pairing guarantees at least one Brazilian side in the final of South America's biggest club competition. Estudiantes are the only non-Brazilian team left, back in the last four for the first time since 2009, the season they won their fourth Libertadores title. Palmeiras are chasing a trophy that will be decided in the stadium where they beat Flamengo in the 2021 final. Brazilian clubs have dominated the recent history of the competition, a pattern the Ecuadorian daily El Mercurio highlighted after this round.

The semi-finals are played over two legs, with the first legs scheduled for the week beginning 13 October and the return matches the following week. The final is a single match on 28 November at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, which CONMEBOL confirmed as the host city earlier this year.