Copa Libertadores Down to Sweet Sixteen

While we were distracted by the bizarre own goal and missed penalty kick that was the UEFA Champions League semifinals this week, South America’s finest were busy deciding the final standings of the Copa Libertadores group stage. The video above is how defending champs Boca Juniors qualified. Sort of.

Boca beat Venezuela’s Maracaibo 3-0, including a beautiful final goal from Juan Roman Riquelme where he deftly lifted it over the keeper. Nice as that was, Boca were still relying on Group 3 rivals Colo Colo failing to beat Atlas in the other game, which is exactly what happened:

So Atlas and Boca advance from Group 3 to the knockout stage of the Copa Libertadores, along with 14 other teams. Here’s how the sweet sixteen pairings look:

Fluminense - Atlético Nacional
Sao Paulo - Nacional de Montevideo
Atlas - Lanús
Cruzeiro - Boca Juniors
Flamengo - América
Cúcuta Deportivo - Santos FC
River Plate - San Lorenzo
Estudiantes de La Plata - Liga de Quito

It’s two legs, home and away, beginning April 30th. It’s also in a pre-destined bracket format. Some great games in there, especially Cruzeiro vs Boca and the all Argentinean clash between River Plate and San Lorenzo.

Over on Copa Libertadores Offside, Mauro has some quality recaps, reviews and video of all the decisive games that took place this week, and also an excellent preview of the last 16 for us.

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Category: South America

Tags: Atlas, Boca Juniors, Colo Colo, Copa Libertadores, Juan Roman Riquelme, South America, World Football, World Soccer

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