River and Boca could meet again in the Sudamericana: what needs to happen | OneFootball

Boca will have to beat O’Higgins in the playoff to reach the Sudamericana round of 16. The Conmebol draw will determine at what stage a Superclásico could take place.

Boca’s unexpected elimination from the Copa Libertadores after the defeat against Universidad Católica at La Bombonera opened up an unthinkable scenario at the start of the year: there could be an international Superclásico. With River already qualified as the leader of its group in the Copa Sudamericana, this Friday’s draw will determine at what stage they could face their biggest rival, who will take on O’Higgins to see if they can also make it into the round of 16.

The first thing that has to happen for a clash between the two giants of Argentine football is for the team from La Ribera to get past the Chileans in their head-to-head matchup. The first leg will be played at La Bombonera between Tuesday, July 21 and Thursday, July 23 (immediately after the World Cup), while the return leg will be played away the following week, from July 27 to 29.

Before that, both sides will already know when they could meet. This Friday, starting at 12 noon at Conmebol headquarters in Luque, Paraguay, the Copa Sudamericana round-of-16 bracket will be drawn. There, River will learn who its two potential rivals are, and depending on how the bracket is set up, it will be clear when they could face Boca. From the round of 16 onward, it could happen at any stage.

Having finished second among the group winners, the Millonario will play the second leg at home in every tie they reach, unless they are drawn against Botafogo, who finished as the best team. Therefore, if a Superclásico were to happen, the first leg would be played at La Bombonera and the second at the Monumental. It would be only the second time they meet in this competition: the first was in the 2014 edition, when Marcelo Gallardo’s team won in the semifinals and then went on to become champions by beating Atlético Nacional.

While waiting for the draw, and with Boca already knowing it will face O’Higgins for a place in the round of 16, River knows for certain that it will face the winner of the tie between one of the Copa Sudamericana group-stage runners-up and a third-place team from the same stage of the Libertadores. These, as predetermined by the regulations, will be:

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