21 Aug 2026
How the Copa Sudamericana works: places, stages and qualification
The Copa Sudamericana is Conmebol’s second-tier continental club competition. Find out who takes part, how the stages work and the route to the final.
What is the Copa Sudamericana?
The Copa Sudamericana brings together clubs from the ten countries affiliated with Conmebol. It is held every year and ranks below the Libertadores in the continental hierarchy. The winners earn a place in the following season’s Libertadores and face the Libertadores champions in the Recopa Sudamericana.
How Brazilian clubs qualify
In Brazil, places are mainly determined by the Campeonato Brasileiro and the winners of the Copa do Brasil, Libertadores and Sudamericana. In general, the highest-placed Brasileirão teams that do not qualify for the Libertadores enter the Sudamericana. The exact number of places can change when a domestic champion has already qualified through the Brasileirão, as the place is then passed down the table.
The first stage in other countries
Before the group stage, clubs from countries such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia and Venezuela play a single-leg national stage. The ties are contested between teams from the same country. The winners advance to the group stage. Brazilian and Argentine clubs enter directly at this stage, according to Conmebol’s allocation of places.
How the group stage works
The group stage consists of eight groups of four clubs. Each team faces the other three sides home and away, playing six matches in total. A win is worth three points, a draw one and a defeat none. The group winners advance directly to the last 16. The runners-up are not immediately eliminated: they enter the playoffs.
Playoffs and knockout stages
In the playoffs, the Sudamericana group runners-up face the teams that finish third in the Libertadores groups. The ties are played over two legs, with the winners reaching the last 16. The last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals are also played over two legs. If the aggregate score is level, the tie is decided on penalties, with no away-goals rule.
The final and tiebreakers
The final is played as a single match in a city selected in advance by Conmebol. If the match ends level, extra time is played and, if necessary, penalties follow. In the group stage, tiebreakers are applied in this order: points, goal difference, goals scored, away goals scored, wins, away wins, position in the Conmebol club ranking and a draw.
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Analysis: PK Sport · our methodology
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