2023 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages explained

The 2023 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages were played from 7 February to 16 March 2023.[1] A total of 19 teams competed in the qualifying stages to decide four of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2023 Copa Libertadores.[2]

Draw

The draw for the qualifying stages was held on 21 December 2022, 12:00 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.[3]

Teams were seeded by their CONMEBOL Clubs ranking as of 9 December 2022 (shown in parentheses),[4] taking into account the following three factors:[5]

  1. Performance in the last 10 years, taking into account Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana results in the period 2013–2022.
  2. Historical coefficient, taking into account Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana results in the period 1960–2012 and 2002–2012 respectively.
  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 teams from Pot 1 hosting the second leg.

For the second stage, the 16 teams were drawn into eight ties (C1–C8), with the teams from Pot 1 hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same tie, excluding the three winners of the first stage, which were seeded in Pot 2 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.

For the third stage, the eight winners of the second stage were allocated without any draw into the following four ties (G1–G4), with the team in each tie with the higher CONMEBOL ranking hosting the second leg.

Format

In the qualifying stages, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the teams had been tied on aggregate, extra time would not have been played, and a penalty shoot-out would have been used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 2.4.3).[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 four teams eliminated in the third stage entered the 2023 Copa Sudamericana group stage.

The bracket was decided based on the first stage draw and second stage draw, which was held on 21 December 2022.

Winner G4

First stage

Summary

The first legs were played on 7–9 February, and the second legs were played on 14–16 February 2023.[6] [7]

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Matches

Nacional won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to the second stage (Match C2).----El Nacional won 9–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second stage (Match C4).----Boston River won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second stage (Match C7).

Second stage

Summary

The first legs were played on 21–23 February, and the second legs were played on 28 February – 2 March 2023.[6] [7] [8]

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Matches

Atlético Mineiro won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G1).----Sporting Cristal won 5–3 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G2).----Fortaleza won 4–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G3).----Independiente Medellín won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G4).----Magallanes won 6–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G4).----Cerro Porteño won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G3).----Huracán won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G2).----Millonarios won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G1).

Third stage

The first legs were played on 8–9 March, and the second legs were played on 15–16 March 2023.[9] [10]

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Matches

Atlético Mineiro won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage.----Sporting Cristal won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage.----Cerro Porteño won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage.----Independiente Medellín won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CALENDÁRIO 2023: CONMEBOL Libertadores - CONMEBOL Sudamericana - RECOPA. CONMEBOL. 7 July 2022. 7 July 2022. es.
  2. Web site: CONMEBOL Libertadores / Manual de Clubes 2023. CONMEBOL. 7 February 2022.
  3. Web site: La CONMEBOL Libertadores definió los partidos de las Fases 1 y 2. The CONMEBOL Libertadores defined the matches for Stages 1 and 2. es. CONMEBOL. 21 December 2022. 21 December 2022.
  4. Web site: Ranking de Clubes CONMEBOL 2023. CONMEBOL Libertadores. 16 December 2022. 17 December 2022. es.
  5. Web site: RANKING DE CLUBES DE LA CONMEBOL 2021 SISTEMA DE PUNTAJE. CONMEBOL. 2 February 2021. es. https://web.archive.org/web/20210830090237/https://www.conmebol.com/sites/default/files/sistema_de_puntaje_ranking_de_clubes_2021.pdf. 30 August 2021.
  6. Web site: Fixtures de la CONMEBOL Libertadores y la CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2023. 2023 CONMEBOL Libertadores and CONMEBOL Sudamericana Fixtures. es. CONMEBOL. 22 December 2022. 22 December 2022.
  7. Web site: CONMEBOL LIBERTADORES 2023 PROGRAMA DE PARTIDOS Departamento de Competiciones y Operaciones Versión de 22/12/2022. es. CONMEBOL. 22 December 2022. 22 December 2022.
  8. Web site: CONMEBOL LIBERTADORES 2023 PROGRAMA DE PARTIDOS Departamento de Competiciones y Operaciones Versión de 17/02/2023. es. CONMEBOL. 17 February 2023. 18 February 2023.
  9. Web site: Fixture para la Fase 3 de la CONMEBOL Libertadores 2023. Fixture for the third stage of the 2023 CONMEBOL Libertadores. CONMEBOL. 3 March 2023. 3 March 2023. es.
  10. Web site: CONMEBOL LIBERTADORES 2023 PROGRAMA DE PARTIDOS Departamento de Competiciones y Operaciones Versión de 03/03/2023. CONMEBOL. 3 March 2023. 3 March 2023. es.