Win over Corinthians secures Cruzeiro a Copa Libertadores group stage spot | OneFootball

This Sunday, Cruzeiro defeated Corinthians 3-0 at Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte, in the 35th round of the Brazilian Championship, securing a direct spot in the group stage of the 2026 Copa Libertadores.

With three rounds left in the Brasileirão (nine points still up for grabs), the Celeste team reached 68 points, in third place, and can no longer be caught by Bahia (56) and Fluminense (55), the two teams just outside the direct qualification zone for the continental competition.

Goalkeeper Cássio, formerly of Corinthians, praised the team’s performance in the match and celebrated qualifying for next year’s Libertadores.

“Very happy. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves, because in the last few games we fell short. We hadn’t conceded three goals in a match since March. Today we managed to play a great game and, as the match went on, control Corinthians’ actions. So we secured an important win, which confirmed our qualification for the Libertadores group stage,” said the player.

Cruzeiro and Corinthians will face each other again on December 10, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), at Mineirão, in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil semifinal. However, Cássio said the squad is focused on the final stretch of the Brasileirão.

“We have to finish the Brasileiro. There are three more games and that’s our focus,” he stated.

Cruzeiro returns to the field this Saturday, when they visit Cruzeiro at Arena Castelão, in Fortaleza. The match, valid for the 36th round of the Brazilian Championship, is scheduled to kick off at 8:30 pm.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.