Group stage kicks off! Everything on Copa Libertadores 2026 🔥 | OneFootball

The group stage of the 2026 Copa Libertadores de América will begin this Tuesday (7) with six matches taking place.

Including the debuts of Fluminense and Cruzeiro. See all the matchups here.

The “main” stage of the 67th edition in the tournament’s history promises plenty of excitement.

Brazilian football is defending a streak of seven consecutive titles thanks to Flamengo, Palmeiras, Fluminense and Botafogo.

A run that allowed Brazil to match Argentine football’s number of titles, something that was considered unlikely in the early 2000s - see more below.

Check out the details of the fight for Eternal Glory below and then have your say:

Who are the favorites to reach the final? 

📋 Groups

Rules 📝

The 32 participants in the group stage were divided into eight groups of four teams each.

The top two teams after home-and-away matches within each group advance to the round of 16.

The third-placed team, meanwhile, secures a spot in the South American Cup round-of-16 playoffs - facing one of the runners-up from the Sudamericana group stage.

And there was a change to the first tiebreaker criterion: 

Head-to-head record considering the matches between the tied teams, following these parameters, in order of priority: highest number of points, best goal difference, highest number of goals scored; Best goal difference across all group stage matches; Highest number of goals scored across all group stage matches.

The remaining tiebreaker criteria are: Fewest red cards; Fewest yellow cards; and Drawing of lots.

The round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals will be played over two legs, with the team that had the better campaign hosting the second match. Tiebreaker criteria:  1) goal difference, 2) penalty shootout.

The final will be a single match. A possible draw in regular time will lead to extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shootout.

Brazil dominates the list of the most valuable players in the Libertadores

Can you get 10/10? This week’s quiz features the national team, Brasileirão, Neymar and more

Schedule 📆

Group stage: from April 7 to May 28

Knockout stage draw: Week of June 6

Round of 16: August 11 to 20

Quarterfinals: September 8 to 17

Semifinals: October 14 to 22

Final: November 28

The final will take place on that date at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay.

🤑 Keep an eye on the MONEY!

There was a US$1 million increase in the prize money specifically for the team that wins the final. It is now US$25 million. 

The champion can earn a total of US$40 million (R$210 million).

And Conmebol kept the “extra” cash bonus for each group-stage win.

See how much each stage of the competition to come is worth: 

Group stage: US$1 million (R$5.2 million)

Group-stage win: US$330,000 (R$1.7 million)

Round of 16: US$1.25 million (R$6.53 million)

Quarterfinals: US$1.7 million (R$8.8 million)

Semifinal: US$2.3 million (R$12 million)

Runner-up: US$7 million (R$36.55 million)

Champion: US$25 million (R$130.53 million)

The governing body had already handed out money in the preliminary rounds: US$400,000 (R$2 million) in the first, US$500,000 (R$2.6 million) in the second and US$600,000 (R$3.1 million) in the third.

Tie between 🇧🇷 and 🇦🇷?

Brazilian football has been calling the Libertadores “its own” since 2019.

There have been seven straight titles since then. Flamengo, for example, became the country’s team with the most titles after winning three editions (2019, 2022 and 2025).

Palmeiras reached three trophies by winning back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021, while the duo of Fluminense (2023) and Botafogo (2024) got off the mark.

Brazil matched Argentina’s 25 titles thanks to that dominance and is now expecting to take the lead. 

Winning teams from Brazil: Flamengo (4), São Paulo (3), Santos (3), Grêmio (3), Palmeiras (3), Cruzeiro (2), Internacional (2), Vasco (1), Corinthians (1), Atlético Mineiro (1), Fluminense (1) and Botafogo (1)

Champion clubs from Argentina: Independiente (7), Boca Juniors (6), Estudiantes La Plata (4), River Plate (4), Racing (1), Argentinos Juniors (1), Vélez Sarsfield (1) and San Lorenzo (1)

Brazil 'only' has 6️⃣ teams

The early exits of Bahia (which failed to even reach the Sudamericana) and Botafogo in the preliminary rounds meant Brazilian football ended up with only six participants in the group stage.

It is the lowest number since the five that took part in the 2015 edition: Corinthians, Palmeiras, Atlético-MG, Grêmio and São Paulo.

Flamengo (current Libertadores and Brasileirão champion), Corinthians (most recent Copa do Brasil winner), Palmeiras (runner-up in BR-25), Cruzeiro (third in BR-25), Mirassol (fourth in BR-25) and Fluminense (fifth in BR-25) are the representatives in this edition.

👀 Mirassol and who else is making their debut?

The 2026 Libertadores had five debutants.

But two have already been eliminated.

Paraguayan side 2 de Mayo (winner of the local cup) and Uruguay’s Juventud (qualified through domestic performance) had to go through the preliminary rounds.

And only Juventud did not come away empty-handed. They got past Universidad de Quito and Guaraní and then lost to Independiente Medellín, securing a place in the Sudamericana.

2 de Mayo, meanwhile, caused a surprise by knocking out Alianza Lima, but then was beaten by fellow Peruvian side Sporting Cristal. 

That left the already mentioned Mirassol and the Argentine clubs Platense and Independiente Rivadavia.

The former - which will be Corinthians’ first opponent - qualified by winning the Argentine Apertura in 2025.

Meanwhile, the lesser-known Independiente - Fluminense’s future opponent - won the Copa Argentina. 

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

📸 LUIS ACOSTA - AFP or licensors