São Paulo rise in Conmebol rankings, top seed for 2026 Sul-Americana | OneFootball

Conmebol released its club ranking at the beginning of this week for the determination of the South American tournaments for the 2026 season. And São Paulo, incredibly, has risen on the Confederation's list.

In the ranking released by the entity at the end of 2024, Tricolor was in 8th place, now the club from Morumbi appears in 7th position, even after falling once again in the quarter-finals of this year's Copa Libertadores.

The list that defines the continent's best clubs based on recent results helps Conmebol determine the top seeds and pot members for its competitions, such as the Copa Sudamericana, which São Paulo will compete in next season.

Above Tricolor and also in the Sudamericana, only the Argentine River Plate, ranked 3rd, and Atlético-MG, in 6th place. Thus, São Paulo will be one of the top seeds in the group stage of the tournament, which is still far from happening. See the list of the top 30 below:

Only the 12 clubs from Argentina and Brazil, six from each country, are automatically guaranteed in the group stage of the Sudamericana. Teams from the other eight federations still compete in a preliminary phase among themselves in national duels to determine two from each nation.

After we know all 28 teams for the group stage of the 2026 Sudamericana, four more eliminated from the pre-Libertadores will join to complete the 32 teams.

The draw for this preliminary phase of the Sudamericana, as well as for the Copa Libertadores, takes place this Thursday (18), in Asunción, Paraguay, at 12 pm (Brasília time).

Next year's Sudamericana promises to be the strongest of all time. For now, eight Libertadores champions are already guaranteed in the group stage. Besides São Paulo, the Brazilian teams Santos, Grêmio, Atlético-MG, and Corinthians or Vasco, as well as the Argentine teams River Plate, Racing, and San Lorenzo.

If they pass their preliminary phases, the Paraguayan Olimpia and Atlético Nacional from Colombia, who have also been crowned Libertadores champions, will increase the number to ten in total.

The Sudamericana Format

The group stage of the Sudamericana, where São Paulo is already guaranteed without having to go through any preliminary stage, will be contested by 32 teams, divided into four groups with four clubs each. The best of each group advances to the round of 16, and the second-best will play a playoff against one of the third-placed teams from the Libertadores groups.

The teams will face each other in home and away matches within their own groups. In the knockout stage, the elimination matches will be in a home-and-away system until the semifinals.

The grand final will be played in a single match at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, in Barranquilla, Colombia.

See the teams already qualified for the 2026 Sudamericana:

Argentina: River Plate, Racing, Deportivo Riestra, San Lorenzo, Tigre, and Barracas Central Brazil: São Paulo, Santos, Grêmio, Atlético-MG, Bragantino, and Corinthians or Vasco Chile: Universidad de Chile, Audax Italiano, Palestino, and Cobresal Paraguay: Sportivo Trinidense, Nacional, Recoleta, and Olimpia Peru: Alianza Atlético, Melgar, Deportivo Garcilaso, and Cienciano Uruguay: Defensor, Boston River, Racing, and Montevideo City Torque Venezuela: Academia Puerto Cabello, Monagas, Caracas, Metropolitanos Colombia: América de Cali, Atlético Bucaramanga, Atlético Nacional, and Millonarios. Bolivia: Independiente Petrolero and Guabirá. Two spots yet to be defined Ecuador: Libertad and Orense. Two spots yet to be defined

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