2018 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages

The 2018 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages were played from 22 January to 22 February 2018.^[1] A total of 19 teams competed in the qualifying stages to decide four of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2018 Copa Libertadores.^[2]

Draw

The draw for the qualifying stages was held on 20 December 2017, 20:00 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.^[3][4]

Teams were seeded by their CONMEBOL ranking of the Copa Libertadores (shown in parentheses), taking into account of the following three factors:^[5]

1. Performance in the last 10 years, taking into account Copa Libertadores results in the period 2008–2017
2. Historical coefficient, taking into account Copa Libertadores results in the period 1960–2007
3. Local tournament champion, with bonus points awarded to domestic league champions of the last 10 years

For the first stage, the six teams were drawn into three ties (E1–E3), with the seeded teams hosting the second leg.^[6]

First stage draw

Seeded	Unseeded
Olimpia (9) Universitario (40) Deportivo Táchira (46)	Montevideo Wanderers (70) Oriente Petrolero (76) Macará (208)

For the second stage, the 16 teams were drawn into eight ties (C1–C8), with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same tie, excluding the winners of the first stage, which were unseeded and whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, and could be drawn into the same tie with another team from the same association.^[6]

Second stage draw

Seeded	Unseeded
Nacional (5) Santa Fe (21) Guaraní (28) Independiente del Valle (29) Jorge Wilstermann (43) Vasco da Gama (54) Junior (60) Melgar (82)	Chapecoense (89) Banfield (91) Santiago Wanderers (126) Carabobo (161) Universidad de Concepción[†] (193) First stage winner E1 First stage winner E2 First stage winner E3

Notes

1. ^† The identity of the team Chile 4 was not known at the time of the draw, and was unseeded in the second stage draw.

For the third stage, no draw was made, and the eight teams were allocated into the following four ties (G1–G4), with the second stage winners with the higher CONMEBOL ranking hosting the second leg.^[7] As the identity of the winners of the second stage was not known at the time of the draw, they could be drawn into the same tie with another team from the same association.^[6]

• Second stage winner C1 vs. Second stage winner C8
• Second stage winner C2 vs. Second stage winner C7
• Second stage winner C3 vs. Second stage winner C6
• Second stage winner C4 vs. Second stage winner C5

Format

In the qualifying stages, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule was used. If still tied, extra time was not played, and a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 29).^[2]

Bracket

The qualifying stages were structured as follows:

• First stage (6 teams): The three winners of the first stage advanced to the second stage to join the 13 teams which were given byes to the second stage.
• Second stage (16 teams): The eight winners of the second stage advanced to the third stage.
• Third stage (8 teams): The four winners of the third stage advanced to the group stage to join the 28 direct entrants. The two best teams eliminated in the third stage entered the Copa Sudamericana second stage.

The bracket was decided based on the first stage draw and second stage draw, which were held on 20 December 2017.^[4]

Winner G1

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Santiago Wanderers			Bye
							Santiago Wanderers	1	1	2
							Melgar	1	0	1
	Melgar			Bye
													Santiago Wanderers	1	0	1
													Santa Fe	2	3	5
	Macará	1	0	1
	Deportivo Táchira (a)	1	0	1
							Deportivo Táchira	2	0	2
							Santa Fe	3	0	3
	Santa Fe			Bye

Winner G2

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Banfield			Bye
							Banfield (a)	1	2	3
							Independiente del Valle	1	2	3
	Independiente del Valle			Bye
													Banfield	2	0	2
													Nacional	2	1	3
	Chapecoense			Bye
							Chapecoense	0	0	0
							Nacional	1	1	2
	Nacional			Bye

Winner G3

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Universidad de Concepción			Bye
							Universidad de Concepción	0	0	0
							Vasco da Gama	4	2	6
	Vasco da Gama			Bye
													Vasco da Gama (p)	4	0	4 (3)
													Jorge Wilstermann	0	4	4 (2)
	Oriente Petrolero (a)	2	1	3
	Universitario	0	3	3
							Oriente Petrolero	1	2	3
							Jorge Wilstermann	2	2	4
	Jorge Wilstermann			Bye

Winner G4

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Montevideo Wanderers	0	0	0
	Olimpia	0	2	2
							Olimpia	1	1	2
							Junior	0	3	3
	Junior			Bye
													Junior	1	0	1
													Guaraní	0	0	0
	Carabobo			Bye
							Carabobo	1	0	1
							Guaraní	0	6	6
	Guaraní			Bye

First stage

The first legs were played on 22 January, and the second legs were played on 26 January 2018.^[8][9]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Montevideo Wanderers	0–2	Olimpia	0–0	0–2
Macará	1–1 (a)	Deportivo Táchira	1–1	0–0
Oriente Petrolero	3–3 (a)	Universitario	2–0	1–3

Match E1

Montevideo Wanderers	0–0	Olimpia
	Report

22 January 2018 (2018-01-22)

19:15 UTC−3

Estadio Luis Franzini, Montevideo^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 4,000

Referee: Anderson Daronco (Brazil)

---

Olimpia	2–0	Montevideo Wanderers
Camacho 55' Giménez 87'	Report

26 January 2018 (2018-01-26)

20:15 UTC−3

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción^{[note 2]}

Attendance: 33,376

Referee: Fernando Rapallini (Argentina)

Olimpia won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second stage (Match C5).

Match E2

Macará	1–1	Deportivo Táchira
Patta 16'	Report	Pérez Greco 68'

22 January 2018 (2018-01-22)

18:00 UTC−5

Estadio Bellavista, Ambato

Attendance: 14,000

Referee: Andrés Rojas (Colombia)

---

Deportivo Táchira	0–0	Macará
	Report

26 January 2018 (2018-01-26)

20:15 UTC−4

Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal

Attendance: 8,000

Referee: Michael Espinoza (Peru)

Tied 1–1 on aggregate, Deportivo Táchira won on away goals and advanced to the second stage (Match C1).

Match E3

Oriente Petrolero	2–0	Universitario
Sánchez 27' Freitas 79'	Report

22 January 2018 (2018-01-22)

21:15 UTC−4

Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Attendance: 21,500

Referee: Carlos Orbe (Ecuador)

---

Universitario	3–1	Oriente Petrolero
Corzo 7', 60' Chávez 65'	Report	Paredes 84'

26 January 2018 (2018-01-26)

20:45 UTC−5

Estadio Monumental "U", Lima

Attendance: 17,000

Referee: Esteban Ostojich (Uruguay)

Tied 3–3 on aggregate, Oriente Petrolero won on away goals and advanced to the second stage (Match C3).

Second stage

The first legs were played on 30–31 January and 1 February, and the second legs were played on 6–8 February 2018.^[8][9]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Deportivo Táchira	2–3	Santa Fe	2–3	0–0
Chapecoense	0–2	Nacional	0–1	0–1
Oriente Petrolero	3–4	Jorge Wilstermann	1–2	2–2
Carabobo	1–6	Guaraní	1–0	0–6
Olimpia	2–3	Junior	1–0	1–3
Universidad de Concepción	0–6	Vasco da Gama	0–4	0–2
Banfield	3–3 (a)	Independiente del Valle	1–1	2–2
Santiago Wanderers	2–1	Melgar	1–1	1–0

Match C1

Deportivo Táchira	2−3	Santa Fe
Granados 10' Almirón 21'	Report	Morelo 6', 50' Tesillo 30'

1 February 2018 (2018-02-01)

18:15 UTC−4

Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Daniel Fedorczuk (Uruguay)

---

Santa Fe	0−0	Deportivo Táchira
	Report

8 February 2018 (2018-02-08)

19:00 UTC−5^{[note 3]}

Estadio El Campín, Bogotá

Attendance: 9,668

Referee: Anderson Daronco (Brazil)

Santa Fe won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G1).

Match C2

Chapecoense	0–1	Nacional
	Report	Romero 73'

31 January 2018 (2018-01-31)

21:45 UTC−2

Arena Condá, Chapecó

Attendance: 11,367

Referee: Patricio Loustau (Argentina)

---

Nacional	1–0	Chapecoense
Romero 5'	Report

7 February 2018 (2018-02-07)

20:45 UTC−3

Estadio Gran Parque Central, Montevideo

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Mario Díaz de Vivar (Paraguay)

Nacional won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G2).

Match C3

Oriente Petrolero	1–2	Jorge Wilstermann
Áñez 37'	Report	Lucas Gaúcho 63' (pen.) Serginho 90+2'

1 February 2018 (2018-02-01)

20:30 UTC−4

Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Attendance: 19,000

Referee: Gustavo Murillo (Colombia)

---

Jorge Wilstermann	2–2	Oriente Petrolero
Serginho 21' Meleán 39'	Report	Freitas 58', 83'

8 February 2018 (2018-02-08)

20:30 UTC−4

Estadio Olímpico Patria, Sucre^{[note 4]}

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Germán Delfino (Argentina)

Jorge Wilstermann won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G3).

Match C4

Carabobo	1–0	Guaraní
Mago 18'	Report

30 January 2018 (2018-01-30)

18:15 UTC−4

Estadio Metropolitano de Mérida, Mérida^{[note 5]}

Attendance: 1,000

Referee: Gery Vargas (Bolivia)

---

Guaraní	6–0	Carabobo
Morel 2', 39' Bogarín 46' Imperiale 53' Gamarra 70' Marín 87'	Report

6 February 2018 (2018-02-06)

19:15 UTC−3

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción^{[note 6]}

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)

Guaraní won 6–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G4).

Match C5

Olimpia	1–0	Junior
Santa Cruz 36'	Report

1 February 2018 (2018-02-01)

21:30 UTC−3

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción^{[note 2]}

Attendance: 32,743

Referee: Luiz Flávio de Oliveira (Brazil)

---

Junior	3–1	Olimpia
González 30' Ruiz 57' T. Gutiérrez 74'	Report	Camacho 44'

8 February 2018 (2018-02-08)

21:15 UTC−5^{[note 7]}

Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla

Attendance: 15,604

Referee: Patricio Loustau (Argentina)

Junior won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G4).

Match C6

Universidad de Concepción	0–4	Vasco da Gama
	Report	Evander 2', 15' Yago Pikachu 78' Rildo 81'

31 January 2018 (2018-01-31)

20:45 UTC−3

Estadio Ester Roa, Concepción

Attendance: 11,455

Referee: Leodán González (Uruguay)

---

Vasco da Gama	2–0	Universidad de Concepción
Paulinho 5' Yago Pikachu 41'	Report

7 February 2018 (2018-02-07)

21:45 UTC−2

Estádio São Januário, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 11,424

Referee: José Argote (Venezuela)

Vasco da Gama won 6–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G3).

Match C7

Banfield	1–1	Independiente del Valle
Cvitanich 70' (pen.)	Report	Barreiro 90+1' (pen.)

30 January 2018 (2018-01-30)

21:30 UTC−3

Estadio Florencio Sola, Banfield

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Diego Haro (Peru)

---

Independiente del Valle	2–2	Banfield
Barreiro 28' B. Arce 64'	Report	Dátolo 23' Sperduti 90'

6 February 2018 (2018-02-06)

19:30 UTC−5

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito^{[note 8]}

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Éber Aquino (Paraguay)

Tied 3–3 on aggregate, Banfield won on away goals and advanced to the third stage (Match G2).

Match C8

Santiago Wanderers	1–1	Melgar
Viotti 1'	Report	Cuesta 45+2'

30 January 2018 (2018-01-30)

21:30 UTC−3

Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, Valparaíso

Attendance: 7,435

Referee: Alexis Herrera (Venezuela)

---

Melgar	0–1	Santiago Wanderers
	Report	Medel 44'

6 February 2018 (2018-02-06)

19:30 UTC−5

Estadio Monumental de la UNSA, Arequipa

Attendance: 7,500

Referee: Ricardo Marques (Brazil)

Santiago Wanderers won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G1).

Third stage

The first legs were played on 13–15 February, and the second legs were played on 20–22 February 2018.^{[8][9][12][13]}

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Santiago Wanderers	1–5	Santa Fe	1–2	0–3
Banfield	2–3	Nacional	2–2	0–1
Vasco da Gama	4–4 (3–2 p)	Jorge Wilstermann	4–0	0–4
Junior	1–0	Guaraní	1–0	0–0

Match G1

Santiago Wanderers	1–2	Santa Fe
Cerezo 86'	Report	Morelo 29', 36' (pen.)

13 February 2018 (2018-02-13)

21:30 UTC−3

Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, Valparaíso

Attendance: 9,793

Referee: José Argote (Venezuela)

---

Santa Fe	3–0	Santiago Wanderers
Morelo 18', 71' Tesillo 78'	Report

20 February 2018 (2018-02-20)

19:30 UTC−5

Estadio El Campín, Bogotá

Attendance: 7,443

Referee: Víctor Carrillo (Peru)

Santa Fe won 5–1 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage (Group D).

Match G2

Banfield	2–2	Nacional
Bertolo 57' Cvitanich 90+2'	Report	Fernández 49' Espino 81'

14 February 2018 (2018-02-14)

19:00 UTC−3

Estadio Florencio Sola, Banfield

Attendance: 18,000

Referee: Enrique Cáceres (Paraguay)

---

Nacional	1–0	Banfield
Zunino 90+4'	Report

21 February 2018 (2018-02-21)

21:45 UTC−3

Estadio Gran Parque Central, Montevideo

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)

Nacional won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage (Group F).

Match G3

Vasco da Gama	4–0	Jorge Wilstermann
Paulão 17' Paulinho 40' Yago Pikachu 87' Rildo 90+3'	Report

14 February 2018 (2018-02-14)

21:45 UTC−2

Estádio São Januário, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 10,919

Referee: Fernando Rapallini (Argentina)

---

Jorge Wilstermann	4–0	Vasco da Gama
Zenteno 5', 70' Pedriel 6' Chávez 16'	Report
Penalties
Lucas Gaúcho Melgar Meleán Ortiz Alex Silva	2–3	Ríos Yago Pikachu Desábato Wellington Rildo

21 February 2018 (2018-02-21)

20:45 UTC−4

Estadio Olímpico Patria, Sucre^{[note 4]}

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

Tied 4–4 on aggregate, Vasco da Gama won on penalties and advanced to the group stage (Group E).

Match G4

Junior	1–0	Guaraní
Chará 80'	Report

15 February 2018 (2018-02-15)

17:15 UTC−5

Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla

Attendance: 14,617

Referee: Leodán González (Uruguay)

---

Guaraní	0–0	Junior
	Report

22 February 2018 (2018-02-22)

21:30 UTC−3

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción^{[note 6]}

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

Junior won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage (Group H).

Copa Sudamericana qualification

The two best teams eliminated in the third stage entered the Copa Sudamericana second stage. Only matches in the third stage were considered for the ranking of teams.

Pos	Match	Third stage losers	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	G3	Jorge Wilstermann	2	1	0	1	4	4	0	3	Copa Sudamericana
2	G2	Banfield	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1
3	G4	Guaraní	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	1
4	G1	Santiago Wanderers	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0

Source: CONMEBOL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) CONMEBOL ranking (Regulations Article 21).^[2]

Notes

1. Montevideo Wanderers played their home match at Estadio Luis Franzini, Montevideo, instead of their regular stadium Estadio Alfredo Victor Viera, Montevideo.
2. Olimpia played their home matches at Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, instead of their regular stadium Estadio Manuel Ferreira, Asunción.
3. The Santa Fe v Deportivo Táchira match was originally scheduled on 8 February 2018, 19:30 local time, but was re-scheduled to 19:00 local time.^[10]
4. Jorge Wilstermann played their home matches at Estadio Olímpico Patria, Sucre, instead of their regular stadium Estadio Félix Capriles, Cochabamba.
5. Carabobo played their home match at Estadio Metropolitano de Mérida, Mérida, instead of their regular stadium Estadio Misael Delgado, Valencia.
6. Guaraní played their home matches at Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, instead of their regular stadium Estadio Rogelio Livieres, Asunción.
7. The Junior v Olimpia match was originally scheduled on 8 February 2018, 17:15 local time, but was re-scheduled to 21:15 local time.^[11]
8. Independiente del Valle played their home match at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, instead of their regular stadium Estadio Rumiñahui, Sangolquí.