Copa Libertadores 2023 Round of 16 & CONMEBOL Sudamericana draw, summary: teams, fixtures, dates

That's all, folks!

Thanks for joining in on the South American fun this time around, we sure had some laughter and some tears.

Make sure you bookmark en.as.com as your home for all the latest drama and action in the world of sport and beyond.

Joe

A point of note...

Boca Juniors and River Plate just missed each other, being among the final four teams to be drawn out of their pots.

If they do meet, it will have to be in the final of the tournament... which is to be held at the Maracaná.

And that's all!

We almost had a Superclásico for a second there, but we'll have to wait!

Nacional (URU) vs Boca Juniors (ARG)

And game 8...

River Plate (ARG) vs Internacional (BRA)

Game 7 now...

Argentinos Juniors (ARG) vs Fluminense (BRA)

Game 6...

Deportivo Pereira (COL) vs Independiente del Valle (ECU)

Game 5 coming up...

Atlético Mineiro (BRA) vs Palmeiras (BRA)

Number 4 next...

Flamengo (BRA) vs Olimpia (PAR)

Now for match number 3...

Bolívar (BOL) vs Athletico Paranaense (BRA)

Atlético Nacional (COL) vs Racing (ARG)

First up...

Here we go!

Remember, we will have the teams from Pot 2 as the home teams in the first leg.

List of teams: 

Palmeiras

Olimpia

Racing

Boca Juniors

Athletico Paranaense

Independiente del Valle

Internacional

Fluminense

***

Bolívar

Flamengo

Nacional

Argentinos Juniors

Atlético Mineiro

River Plate

Atlético Nacional

Deportivo Pereira

We've got Fred Nantes up here to do the draw, the Director of Operations for CONMEBOL.

We've got a brief anti-violence and anti-racism speech from Alejandro Domínguez, the President of CONMEBOL. 

And now it's time for the Libertadores draw

Here's a graphic of the two pots for the draw. The ties will be played over 2 legs, and the team from Pot 1 will play the second leg at home.

There won't be any extra-time if the two sides are level after 180 minutes, and the games will go straight to penalties.

CONMEBOL Sudamericana draw:

Sporting Cristal/Emelec vs Defensa y Justicia 

Barcelona/Estudiantes vs Goiás

Colo-Colo/América MG vs Red Bull Bragantino

Ind. Medellín/San Lorenzo vs São Paulo

Ñublense/Audax Italiano vs LDU Quito

Libertad/Tigre vs Fortaleza

Corinthians/Universitario vs Newell's Old Boys

Patronato/Botafogo vs Guaraní

We've got the CONMEBOL Sudamericana draw up first...

But, as always, a goals compilation to start us off.

OK, here we go, I promise.

Things are moving!

We've got a video of the Copa Libertadores trophy in different locations across South America, including Asunción, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.

Still no draw just yet...

The two men in trainers and denim jackets are still looking at football shirts, which are all lovely, by the way.

Now we are being presented with all the shirts of the teams that are to feature in the draw, as well as the opinions of two men in trainers.

We're almost ready to go!

The presentation has started and we're first being run through the teams for the draw of the Copa Sudamericana.

A word of warning:

Well, not really a warning, but more of a reminder: there are no limitations to the draw today.

Any team, regardless of country, can be drawn against any other team with no problem at all. 

I'm getting excited now. Just over 15minutes to go!

Let's run through the teams again...

If you've just joined us, below are the teams that are in today's draw. 

Here's how it works: the top teams (who came top of their groups) will be drawn against the bottom teams (second in the group). The current order of the teams is specifically related to games won, drawn and lost in the first stage of the competition.

List of teams: 

Palmeiras

Olimpia

Racing

Boca Juniors

Athletico Paranaense

Independiente del Valle

Internacional

Fluminense

***

Bolívar

Flamengo

Nacional

Argentinos Juniors

Atlético Mineiro

River Plate

Atlético Nacional

Deportivo Pereira

Crespo celebrates his birthday today

The Argentinian scored twice in the 1996 home leg of the final against América de Cali: two important goals in the history of the club, and probably the most significant of his 24 that he managed before a move to Parma in Italy's Serie A.

The most appearances this century:

The player with the most Copa Libertadores appearances after the year 2000 is São Paulo's legendary goalkeeper, Rogério Ceni.

The now 50-year-old played 870 times for the Brazilian club in a career that spanned over 2 decades. However, that is not even the most astonishing fact: he scored over 100 goals for the club - as a goalkeeper!

Ceni was a prolific free-kick and penalty taker, and could hit them into any corner from any area of the pitch, something that made his legend even greater for one of Brazil's biggest clubs. Just one of his 131 goals came from open play.

He won the 2005 Copa Libertadores, a tournament in which he was also voted as the best player that year.

One legendary team is missing...

The record winners of the Copa Libertadores are Independiente from Avellaneda in Greater Buenos Aires, who have won the tournament a mid-blowing seven times.

The last time they were victorious, however, was way back in 1984, which was the final time after winning 4 in a row between 1972 and 1975.

After that, Boca are next with 6 wins and 5 second place finishes, so you could argue that they are actually the most consistent team across the history of the competition.

One to watch:

Club Olimpia's Alejandro Silva has racked up an impressive 3 assists so far this tournament, making him the joint-highest provider along with Jhon Arias of Fluminense.

The 33-year-old Uruguayan creates over 4 chances per game according to FBREF, and has shown himself to be a reliable ball carrier too, completing 2 successful take-ons per 90, putting him firmly in the bracket of 'baller'.

Why is the competition known as the Copa 'Libertadores'?

The competition was originally called the American Champions Cup in 1958, ten years after the initial format and direct descendant of today's tournament was born.

In 1958 the name was changed to Copa Libertadores in order to honour the heroes of South American liberation, namely Simón Bolívar, Juan McKenna, José de San Martín and the fantastically named Bernardo O'Higgins, among others.

The best goalkeeper of the tournament so far:

The team with the most clean sheets so far in this edition of the Copa Libertadores is ex-Manchester United shot stopper, Sergio Romero.

The Argentinian has kept 4 clean sheets so far in 6 games, conceding just two goals, both to Deportivo Pereira.

Boca's defensive form in the 2023 league table is not the same, however, where the side have conceded 22 goals in 22 games.

SOCCER

Incredible next level soccer skills in Brazil

While we wait for the draw to unfold, check out these fabulous Brazilian soccer skills.

I'm not one for social media Face-Tube videos, but these skills are genuinely mind-blowing. And although it says 'by Calum Roche', I can confirm nobody at AS USA took part in the video.

See the full video of the amazing Brazilian soccer skill show 

The current top scorer is...

Fluminense's 35-year-old forward, Germán Cano, who has 6 goals so far. 

He's tied at the top with Atlético Nacional's Dorlan Pabón, who has scored the same amount of goals but in one game less on the books. 

Here's a throwback!

Yes, the current Copa Libertadores champions are the side where a certain Vini Jr made his name as one of football's shining lights.

The now 22-year-old moved to Madrid in 2018 after scoring 11 in 50 for Flamengo. 

Since then, he has gone on to become one of the world's greatest players, playing well over 100 games for Los Blancos.  

Why are Palmeiras at the top?

Perhaps a better question is 'why are the teams in that order?'.

Well, there is a good explanation. The teams that came top in the groups are in the top half of the list and the teams that came second in the groups are in the bottom half.

Ordering the teams here in their respective mini-leagues comes down to their specific performances in the group stage: as Palmeiras finished top and won the most games (5W 1L), they get top seed. 

Fluminense came top of their group (3W 1D 2 L), but they have the worst record out of the winners, so they sit at the bottom of the top list.

Bolívar are another example: they won 4 games and lost 2 - more wins than Fluminense - but they finished behind Palmeiras, so are in the second seed group of 9-16.

Which teams are in the draw?

Great question. Here are all the teams that we will be seeing drawn out today once the event gets underway:

Palmeiras

Olimpia

Racing

Boca Juniors

Athletico Paranaense

Independiente del Valle

Internacional

Fluminense

***

Bolívar

Flamengo

Nacional

Argentinos Juniors

Atlético Mineiro

River Plate

Atlético Nacional

Deportivo Pereira

Hello and welcome to the AS USA live coverage of the Copa Libertadores Round of 16.

It'sJoe here to guide you through all the action as we find out the latest pairings for the tournament!