What happened so far in Copa Libertadores 2020

The Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores is the most important soccer club tournament in America. Its 2020 edition is number 61. Teams from ten countries participate in it: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The tournament began with an initial qualifying stage between January 21 and February 27. In March, and after playing two group stage dates, the cup was stopped by the coronavirus pandemic.

After a long wait, the competition resumed its matches on September 15.

What is the Copa Libertadores tournament format?

The tournament has a qualifying stage. Four teams qualify for the group stage, which consists of eight groups of four teams each. All teams play back and forth matches against their group rivals.

The Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana champions from the previous year automatically qualify for the group stage. In this case, they are the Flamengo and Independiente del Valle clubs.

The first two of each group qualify for the round of 16. Meanwhile, the third place in each group gets a place in the round of 32 of the Copa Sudamericana.

Which teams classified to the Copa Libertadores last 16?

At the end of September 2020, the fifth and penultimate date of the group stage was played. Until then, eleven teams had already qualified for the eighth-finals. Let's see below the performance of these in each group.

• Group A: Flamengo reached the round of 16 after beating Independiente del Valle. In total, it won 4 matches and lost one.
• Group B: the Brazilian Palmeiras advanced after winning four games and drawing one. For his part, the Paraguayan Guaraní qualified after winning 3 of the five games it played.
• Group C: Athletico Paranaense secured a place in the round of 16 by leading the Group with 10 points. He obtained 3 wins, a draw, and a loss.
• Group D: Liga de Quito and River Plate qualified in this group. The Ecuadorians won four games and lost one. For their part, the Argentines won four games and will define the group first on the last date against Liga de Quito.
• Group E: The Gremio de Porto Alegre qualified with a 3-1-1 record.
• Group F: Uruguayan National was the first team to win a place in the round of 16. It got its pass winning four games while it lost only one. The Argentine Racing de Avellaneda qualified with the same record.
• Group G: Santos from Brazil secured their pass by winning four of the five matches they played.
• Group H: Boca Juniors advanced among the last 16, accumulating eleven points through three wins and two draws.

There will be a draw to define the round of sixteen matches. From the round of 16 to the semifinals, the round-trip matches will resolve all encounters. The final will be a single match and will be played at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro in January 2021.