River and Boca could meet in the Copa Sudamericana semi-finals | OneFootball

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 a Superclásico on the international stage. The draw held at noon today in Luque, Paraguay, determined that River and Boca could meet in the semifinals of the tournament.

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 its head-to-head matchup against O’Higgins. 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.

If Boca gets through that stage, only then would it enter the round of 16, where it would face Recoleta of Paraguay. In that same round, River would wait for the winner of Independiente Santa Fe and Caracas. If both win, they will have a tough quarterfinal showdown: Xeneize would face Bolívar/Gremio or São Paulo, while in Núñez they would wait for Independiente Medellín/Vasco da Gama or Olimpia. If one wins its three head-to-head series and the other wins its two knockout rounds, then there will be a Superclásico in the semifinal.

River’s advantage is that in all these matchups it would play the second leg at the Monumental. Having finished as the second-best group winner would only cost it home advantage against Botafogo (the best), but the Brazilians are on the other side of the bracket and therefore they would only meet in a final. Boca, meanwhile, would only play the second leg at La Bombonera against Bolívar (a potential quarterfinal) or against Independiente Medellín.

If the clash between the two giants of Argentine football does happen, it would be only the second time this has occurred in the Copa Sudamericana. Coincidentally, the previous time it happened was also in the semifinals: in 2014, River won 1-0 on aggregate thanks to Leonardo Pisculichi’s goal in the second leg at the Monumental. It would then go on to be crowned champion by defeating Atlético Nacional 2-0 in the final.

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