Atlético-MG and Fortaleza meet their rivals in the Libertadores 2023 debut

This Wednesday afternoon (21), CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation) drew the matches for the first and second phases of the 2023 Copa Libertadores, in Luque, Paraguay.

The two Brazilian teams participating in this phase, Atlético Mineiro and Fortaleza, will face Carabobo-VEN and Deportivo Maldonado-URU, respectively, in the second phase of the tournament, in the weeks of February 22nd and March 1st. The first games will be at the rival’s home, and the return games will be in Brazil.

“I’ve always said that my dream is to win the Libertadores with Galo and I hope to make that dream come true in 2023. It was even one of my requests to Santa Claus”, said striker Hulk. “We need to reach a higher physical and technical level to start the dream, which is this Libertadores.”

“We have a stronger, more robust squad, with more options. This year 2023 is different because we are already entering phase 2 of the competition. It is a good problem. The experience in the 2022 Libertadores will help us to face the challenge in 2023”, commented the president of Fortaleza, Marcelo Paz, to ESPN Brasil, referring to the arrival of Leão da Pici to the round of 16 of Libertadores in 2022, stage in which he was eliminated by Estudiantes-ARG.

Before the group stage, when the other six Brazilian clubs will debut (Flamengo, Palmeiras, Internacional, Fluminense, Corinthians and Athletico-PR), three knockout stages will be held. In the first, there will be three clashes, without the presence of Brazilian, Argentine, Colombian and Chilean teams.

The three classified, after home and away games, will join the 13 teams guaranteed in the second phase. Also in the knockout system, the eight winning teams will advance to the last phase, which cannot have clubs from the same country clash. In this way, if Atlético and Fortaleza pass, they will face rivals from other countries. Both can guarantee themselves in the group stage.

In the third phase, the eight remaining teams will play again in home and away matches. The four winners enter the group stage, whose draw will be held on March 22 at Conmebol headquarters.

In 2022, Flamengo became the first undefeated Libertadores champion since Corinthians achieved the feat in 2012. The team from Rio closed the campaign with a 1-0 victory over Athletico Paranaense, in Guayaquil-EQU,

Brazilian clubs have dominated the continental tournament in recent years. In 2019, the red-black carioca beat River Plate-ARG in the final. And, in 2020 and 2021, Palmeiras was the champion beating Santos and Flamengo in the respective decisions.

Check the Libertadores 2023 table

First phase (Weeks 8/2 and 15/2)

E1: Sport Huancayo-PER x Nacional-PAR
E2: Nacional Potosí-BOL x El Nacional-EQU
E3: Boston River-URU vs Zamora-VEN

Second phase (Weeks 2/22 and 3/1)

Carabobo-VEN vs Atlético-MG
E1 x Sporting Cristal-PER
Department Maldonado-URU vs Fortaleza
E2 x Ind. Medellín-COL
Magallanes-CHI vs Always Ready-BOL
Curicó Unido-CHI x Cerro Porteño-PAR
E3 vs Huracan-ARG
Univ. Católica-EQU x Millonarios-COL

Third phase (Weeks 8/3 and 15/3)

Group stage draw – 22/3

Group stage (week from 5/4 to 28/6)

Round of 16 draw – 7/21

round of 16

First-way games – week 2/8
Back games – week 9/8

Quarterfinals

First leg games – week 8/23
Return games – week 8/30

semifinals

First leg games – week 9/27
Return games – week 4/10

Final

11/11 (to be confirmed)

Clubs entering the group stage directly:

ARGENTINA: Boca Juniors, Racing, Patronato, River Plate and Argentinos Juniors
BOLIVIA: Bolívar and The Strongest
BRAZIL: Flamengo, Palmeiras, Internacional, Fluminense, Corinthians and Athletico-PR
CHILE: Colo-Colo and Ñublense
COLOMBIA: Atlético Nacional
ECUADOR: Independiente del Valle
PARAGUAY: Olimpia and Libertad
PERU: Alianza Lima and Melgar
URUGUAY: Nacional-URU and Liverpool-URU
VENEZUELA: Metros and Monagas

Sudamericana also defines first phase duels

This Wednesday, CONMEBOL also drew the matches for the first phase of the 2023 Copa Sudamericana, which does not include Brazilian or Argentine clubs. These enter directly into the group stage.

The Brazilians in the dispute are São Paulo, América-MG, Botafogo, Santos, Goiás and Bragantino. And the Argentinians, Gimnasia, Defensa y Justicia, Tigre, Newell’s Old Boys, Estudiantes and San Lorenzo.

The main novelty of the tournament is the holding of a playoff between the group stage and the round of 16. In the group stage, the first place continues to give direct vacancy to the round of 16. The second places, however, will play an elimination match against the teams that fall as third placed in the Libertadores to define who continues in the dispute.

Check out the South American table:

First phase (week 8/3)

Guabirá-BOL x Oriente Petrolero-BOL
Blooming-BOL vs Atlético Palma Flor-BOL
Cobresal-CHI vs Palestino-CHI
Audax Italiano-CHI x Univ. Catholic-CHI
Tolima-COL x Junior-COL
Águilas Doradas-COL x Ind. Santa Fe – COL
LDU-EQU x Dolphin-EQU
Emelec-EQU vs Deportivo Cuenca-EQU
Guaraní-PAR vs Sportivo Ameliano-PAR
Tacuary-PAR x General Caballero-PAR
Un. César Vallejo-PER x Dep. Binational-PER
Universitario-PER x Cienciano-PER
Defender Sporting-URU x Danubio-URU
River Plate-URU vs Peñarol-URU
Caracas-VEN vs A. Puerto Cabello-VEN
Est. de Mérida-VEN x Dep. Táchirae-VEN

Group stage (Weeks from 4/5 to 6/28)

Final (28/10 – to be confirmed)