Copa Sudamericana 2026 Quarter-Finals: Boca Juniors win, Santa Fe hold Vasco da Gama in quarterfinals
The Copa Sudamericana 2026 quarter-finals got underway with two ties on September 8. Argentinian giants Boca Juniors hosted Sao Paulo and Colombian side Santa Fe took on Vasco da Gama.
Boca had overcome Paraguay’s Recoleta in the last 16, while Sao Paulo beat Bolivia’s Bolivar to set up their quarter-final clash. Santa Fe knocked out River Plate to book the last eight tie against Vasco da Gama, who saw off Olimpia.
Boca Juniors 1-0 Sao Paulo
Boca Juniors will take a slender lead to the second leg of their quarter-final tie against Sao Paulo after a 1-0 win at home. The Brazilian side had the better of early exchanges and had the chance to take the lead.
Boca were caught trying to play out from the back, and a sublime ball was played into the box. However, Luciano Neves’ header was kept out brilliantly by Alvaro Montero. The home side created little in terms of clear-cut chances in the first 45 minutes, but the tempo of the game shifted in the second half.
The Xeneize did exert more pressure, with Rafael keeping his side in the game with a fine athletic save. Alan Velasco also saw his long-range effort swirl just wide of the post. The Tricolor Paulista also had a few chances but failed to sustain a spell of pressure and trouble the opposition defence.
Montero produced a fine display in goal and kept Boca ahead with saves from Domingos Duarte and Jonathan Calleri. Calleri also picked up a yellow card, which means he will miss the return leg.
Sao Paulo will now host Boca in the second leg at MorumBIS next Tuesday and have to overcome this narrow deficit. For Boca, a draw in the second leg is enough to reach the semis.
Santa Fe 0-0 Vasco da Gama
Santa Fe and Vasco da Gama will have it all to do in the second leg after a goalless draw in their first-leg encounter. The match at El Campín saw both sides go close to taking a useful advantage but had to ultimately settle for a draw.
The home side, backed by a boisterous support, started on the front foot and had the ball in the net after eight minutes. Iván Scarpeta rose to power a header past Léo Jardim after a cross from the right side. However, their celebrations were short-lived as the goal was ruled out for a marginal offside call.
Jardim then nearly scored from a kick from inside his own area. His long-range effort went over the Santa Fe defence and Weimar Asprilla had to scramble in goal to push it away for a corner. The resulting set-piece saw Asprilla keep out Claudio Spinelli’s sharp header.
In the second half, Spinelli and Asprilla were at the centre of action early on. The Black Shirts forward did well to skip past the defence and was through on goal; however, the Santa Fe keeper once again denied him with a brilliant close-range save.
Los Cardenales then went close to making the breakthrough with Franco Fagundez seeing his left foot strike come off against the crossbar. In the closing moments, Jardim pulled out saves from back-to-back corners to keep the tie level.
The second leg of the tie will take place next Tuesday at São Januário in Rio de Janeiro with everything to play for.
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