Copa Libertadores 2026 Last 16 Draw: The Road To Buenos Aires Is Set | OneFootball

By Louis Smith.

The road to Montevideo, the 2026 location of the Copa Libertadores final, has been set after the group stage concluded last week. The bracket, featuring the last 16 of the tournament, includes six Brazilian sides, four Argentinian sides, two Chilean outfits, two Ecuadorian sides, a Colombian side, and a Paraguayan side, as the hunt for glory intensifies.

Estudiantes v Universidad Católica

The first pairing sees Estudiantes take on Universidad Católica. The Chilean side won their group, while Estudiantes finished as runners-up. The pair have only met twice, and that came in the competition back in May 1969. On that occasion, it was the Argentinian side who ran out winners in the semi-final of the competition, winning 6-2 on aggregate.

Rosario Central v Corinthians

They will meet either Rosario Central or Corinthians, who will also lock horns for the first time in a while, with their only previous meetings coming in the competition in May 2000 in the quarter-finals, where Corinthians edged out the Argentinian side following a penalty shootout.

Flamengo v Cruzeiro

On the same side of the draw, it’s Belo Horizonte v Rio de Janeiro, as there will be an all-Brazilian affair between Cruzeiro and Flamengo in what promises to be an exciting encounter. The pair have met before in the Libertadores, most recently in 2018, when Cruzeiro enjoyed a 2-1 victory over their Brazilian counterparts. In more recent meetings this year in the league, Flamengo enjoyed a 2-0 victory over Cruzeiro.

Deportes Tolima v Independiente del Valle

The winner of that tie will play Deportes Tolima or Independiente del Valle. Independiente del Valle have been successful in the Copa Sudamericana in recent years, but they would love to go one better. They will play Tolima, with the sides having met more recently in the 2022 group stage. On that occasion, Tolima had the better record of the two. Independiente del Valle drew 2-2 on home soil, despite Tolima playing the majority of the match with 10 men. Then, in the return fixture in Colombia, it was a 1-0 victory for the Colombian side thanks to a goal from Andres Ibargüen.

The semi-final on that side of the draw will feature one of those teams, meaning there is the potential for a meeting between last year’s finalists, Flamengo and Palmeiras. However, the rest of the pack will be hoping they can stop them.

Mirassol v LDU Quito

In the second half of the draw, Mirassol will take on LDU Quito. Mirassol are making their debut in the competition, and while they have had a bit of a struggle in the Brasileirão, their form in the Libertadores has been relatively good, especially considering the fact that it’s their first time ever in continental competition.

They do remain in the drop zone in the Brasileirão, but the Copa Libertadores has given them something to look forward to. They take on an LDU Quito side managed by Brazilian coach Tiago Nunes, who guided LDU Quito to the Copa Libertadores semi-final last year and almost took them to the final, only to see Palmeiras fight back in historic fashion.

They will be hoping that this time around, things will go much more smoothly for them. It’s worth noting that these two sides did play each other in the group stage, and they couldn’t really be separated. LDU Quito won the first match 2-0 before Mirassol won the second match on home soil by the same scoreline.

So both sides are familiar with each other. Who knows what will happen?

Palmeiras v Cerro Porteño

They will meet either Palmeiras of Brazil or Cerro Porteño of Paraguay, another pair of sides that featured in the same group. On that occasion, it was the Paraguayan side who stunned Palmeiras by finishing top of the group. First, they drew 1-1 in Asunción before, in the match in São Paulo, Cerro Porteño shocked them with a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Pablo Vegetti.

The sides have become very familiar with each other recently. They also met in the 2025 Copa Libertadores group stage, meaning this will be their sixth meeting. In total, they will have played each other six times in just two years.

Coquimbo Unido v Platense

Coquimbo Unido of Chile will play Platense of Argentina for the first time in their history. Platense come into the match as group winners, whereas Coquimbo Unido finished in second place. The winner of that tie will meet either Independiente Rivadavia or Fluminense of Brazil in the quarter-finals.

Fluminense v Independiente Rivadavia

Fluminense and Independiente Rivadavia, once again, fit what has become a bit of a theme in this part of the draw, as these sides met in the group stage.

It was the Argentinians who stunned the Brazilians over two legs, despite making their debut in the competition this year. They enjoyed a 2-1 victory in Brazil before drawing 1-1 in Argentina.

The unique thing about this tie is that Fluminense had to rely on the Argentinian side in the final game of the group to get them through to the next stage of the competition. And they did just that by winning 3-1 away in Bolivia with two stoppage-time goals.

Independiente Rivadavia will be hoping that favour does not come back to bite them.