Corinthians finish prep as striker eyes Libertadores quarter-final return | OneFootball

On the afternoon of this Tuesday (15), Corinthians wrapped up, at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava, its preparation for the next match of the season. On Wednesday night (16), at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), Alvinegro will host Estudiantes of Argentina at Neo Química Arena for the second leg of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores quarterfinals. In the first leg, played on the 6th in La Plata, the teams drew 1-1. If the score is level again, the team advancing will be decided on penalties.

The Corinthians squad began the day of training in the Flexform Team Talk Room, where the players were shown videos with tactical instructions already focused on tonight’s match. Later, after activation work in the gym and a warm-up on the pitch, the players carried out a ten-on-ten tactical session under head coach Fernando Diniz. Finally, set-piece plays and penalty kicks were worked on.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

For the match, Corinthians is expected to have five absences and still has two players one booking away from suspension. On the other hand, the main piece of good news is the return of midfielder André Luiz, who has recovered from a muscle injury. With that, Timão’s likely starting lineup is: Hugo Souza; Matheuzinho, Gabriel Paulista, Gustavo Henrique and Matheus Bidu; Allan, André Carrillo, Breno Bidon and Rodrigo Garro; Kaio César and Memphis Depay.

Scorer of Corinthians’ equalizer in the first leg, four minutes into the second half, forward Kaio César spoke to the club’s official YouTube channel and predicted a balanced match against the Argentine side. He also made sure to highlight the importance of the Fiel Torcida in helping Alvinegro chase a place in the tournament semifinals for the first time in 14 years.

“I was very happy to have helped the team with a goal. I believe the goal will give us more confidence for this second leg. If we had come into it trailing 1-0, it would have been a very difficult game. We would have had to attack more. Now, with that goal, we’ll have to know how to play the game. We’ll have to know when to attack and when to defend. I believe Estudiantes will come with the same mindset. It will be a very balanced game, but we’re going in search of qualification. The Fiel is certainly our 12th player. They’re the ones who support us, who make us run for the full 90 minutes and never give up. With the Fiel supporting us, we definitely have a better chance of going through,” he said.

This is Corinthians’ sixth appearance in the Conmebol Libertadores quarterfinals. In 2000 and 2012, against Atlético-MG and Vasco da Gama, Alvinegro advanced. On the other hand, in the 1996, 1999 and 2022 editions, the club from Parque São Jorge was eliminated by Grêmio, Palmeiras and Flamengo, respectively.

Since winning the tournament for the first time in 2012, in unbeaten fashion, Timão has not had a strong record in the competition — in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018, it was knocked out in the round of 16. In 2022, it stopped in the quarterfinals. And finally, in 2020 and 2025, it bowed out of the Libertadores in the preliminary stage. Alvinegro is seeking its third semifinal in the tournament’s history. The other two came in 2000 and 2012.

Libertadores campaign so far and prize money earned

In the group stage, Alvinegro advanced as leader of Group E with 11 points — three wins, two draws and one loss — scoring eight goals and conceding four. In the round of 16, it eliminated Rosario Central-ARG with a 1-0 aggregate win — 0-0 in the first leg (Argentina) and 1-0 in the second leg (Neo Química Arena).

So far, the team has four wins, one draw and one loss — 10 goals scored and five conceded — in addition to R$ 25.9 million accumulated in prize money in the competition. If Timão qualifies for the semifinals, it will receive another US$ 2.3 million (around R$ 11.85 million at the current exchange rate)

Kaio César’s path at Corinthians

Kaio César is on loan at Corinthians from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal until the end of the season, with a purchase option of six million euros (just over R$ 30 million). The 22-year-old arrived at Parque São Jorge in search of more playing time, something he had not been getting with the Saudi team, while also bringing pace out wide — a profile that had been lacking in the Corinthians squad. Developed in Coritiba’s youth academy and standing out with Coxa’s first team, he also played abroad for Vitória de Guimarães (four goals and eight assists in 47 games) and Al-Hilal (four goals and six assists in 39 matches).

In total, he has three goals and three assists in 29 matches (17 as a starter) wearing the Timão shirt, with 11 wins, nine draws and nine losses — a 48.3% points rate. He was part of the squad that won the Supercopa do Brasil against Flamengo at Mané Garrincha Stadium in Brasília — a 2-0 victory. In that match, he provided the assist for Yuri Alberto to score the second goal. After Fernando Diniz arrived in early April, he established himself as a starter.

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