2023 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages

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.

First stage draw

Pot 1	Pot 2
Nacional (71) El Nacional (73) Zamora (99)	Sport Huancayo (119) Nacional Potosí (181) Boston River (224)

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.

Second stage draw

Pot 1	Pot 2
Atlético Mineiro (11) Cerro Porteño (15) Sporting Cristal (35) Independiente Medellín (54) Millonarios (57) Huracán (58) Always Ready (74) Fortaleza (78)	Universidad Católica (90) Carabobo (183) Magallanes (215) Curicó Unido (No rank) Deportivo Maldonado (No rank) First stage winner E1 First stage winner E2 First stage winner E3

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.

• 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 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 G1

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Universidad Católica			Bye
							Universidad Católica	0	1	1
							Millonarios	0	2	2
	Millonarios			Bye
													Millonarios	1	1	2
													Atlético Mineiro	1	3	4
	Carabobo			Bye
							Carabobo	0	1	1
							Atlético Mineiro	0	3	3
	Atlético Mineiro			Bye

Winner G2

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Boston River	3	1	4
	Zamora	1	0	1
							Boston River	0	0	0
							Huracán	0	1	1
	Huracán			Bye
													Huracán	0	0	0
													Sporting Cristal	0	1	1
	Sport Huancayo	2	1	3
	Nacional	1	3	4
							Nacional	2	1	3
							Sporting Cristal	0	5	5
	Sporting Cristal			Bye

Winner G3

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Deportivo Maldonado			Bye
							Deportivo Maldonado	0	0	0
							Fortaleza	0	4	4
	Fortaleza			Bye
													Fortaleza	0	1	1
													Cerro Porteño	1	2	3
	Curicó Unido			Bye
							Curicó Unido	0	0	0
							Cerro Porteño	1	1	2
	Cerro Porteño			Bye

Winner G4

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Magallanes			Bye
							Magallanes	3	3	6
							Always Ready	0	1	1
	Always Ready			Bye
													Magallanes	1	0	1
													Independiente Medellín	1	2	3
	Nacional Potosí	1	1	2
	El Nacional	6	3	9
							El Nacional	2	1	3
							Independiente Medellín	2	2	4
	Independiente Medellín			Bye

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]}

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Sport Huancayo	3–4	Nacional	2–1	1–3
Nacional Potosí	2–9	El Nacional	1–6	1–3
Boston River	4–1	Zamora	3–1	1–0

Matches

7 February 2023 (2023-02-07)

19:00  UTC−5

Sport Huancayo	2–1	Nacional
Escobar 52' Huaccha 90+6'	Report	Brizuela 69'

Estadio Huancayo, Huancayo

Attendance: 0 ^{[note 1]}

Referee: Nicolás Gamboa (Chile)

14 February 2023 (2023-02-14)

21:00  UTC−3

Nacional	3–1	Sport Huancayo
Ocampos 62' Martínez 69' Fleitas 90+8'	Report	Millán 39'

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

Referee: Darío Herrera (Argentina)

Nacional won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to the second stage (Match C2).

---

8 February 2023 (2023-02-08)

20:00  UTC−4

Nacional Potosí	1–6	El Nacional
Prost 45+1'	Report	Ordóñez 5', 38' W. Chalá 13' Carrillo 16' Solís 45+4' Asprilla 89'

Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz ^{[note 3]}

Referee: Yender Herrera (Venezuela)

15 February 2023 (2023-02-15)

19:00  UTC−5

El Nacional	3–1	Nacional Potosí
Micolta 18' Julio 45' Palacios 90+1'	Report	Cristaldo 55'

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito

Referee: Bruno Arleu (Brazil) ^{[note 4]}

El Nacional won 9–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second stage (Match C4).

---

9 February 2023 (2023-02-09)

21:00  UTC−3

Boston River	3–1	Zamora
Costa 23' Acuña 55' Gómez 64'	Report	Magallán 75'

Estadio Centenario, Montevideo ^{[note 5]}

Referee: Wagner Magalhães (Brazil)

16 February 2023 (2023-02-16)

20:00  UTC−4

Zamora	0–1	Boston River
	Report	Urretaviscaya 20'

Estadio Agustín Tovar, Barinas

Referee: Andrés Rojas (Colombia)

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] [11]}

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Carabobo	1–3	Atlético Mineiro	0–0	1–3
Nacional	3–5	Sporting Cristal	2–0	1–5
Deportivo Maldonado	0–4	Fortaleza	0–0	0–4
El Nacional	3–4	Independiente Medellín	2–2	1–2
Magallanes	6–1	Always Ready	3–0	3–1
Curicó Unido	0–2	Cerro Porteño	0–1	0–1
Boston River	0–1	Huracán	0–0	0–1
Universidad Católica	1–2	Millonarios	0–0	1–2

Matches

22 February 2023 (2023-02-22)

20:30  UTC−4

Carabobo	0–0	Atlético Mineiro
	Report

Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, Caracas ^{[note 6]}

Attendance: 1,567 ^[13]

Referee: Gery Vargas (Bolivia)

1 March 2023 (2023-03-01)

21:30  UTC−3

Atlético Mineiro	3–1	Carabobo
Hulk 16' Paulinho 18' Edenílson 73'	Report	Pernía 45+3'

Mineirão, Belo Horizonte

Referee: Diego Haro (Peru)

Atlético Mineiro won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G1).

---

21 February 2023 (2023-02-21)

19:00  UTC−3

Nacional	2–0	Sporting Cristal
Martínez 46' Aguilar 90+7'	Report

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

Referee: Anderson Daronco (Brazil)

28 February 2023 (2023-02-28)

19:00  UTC−5

Sporting Cristal	5–1	Nacional
Ávila 46', 67' Ignácio 74' Lora 89' Corozo 90+5'	Report	Caballero 47'

Estadio Nacional, Lima ^{[note 7]}

Attendance: 17,743 ^[14]

Referee: Cristian Garay (Chile)

Sporting Cristal won 5–3 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G2).

---

23 February 2023 (2023-02-23)

21:00  UTC−3

Deportivo Maldonado	0–0	Fortaleza
	Report

Estadio Domingo Burgueño, Maldonado

Referee: Carlos Betancur (Colombia)

2 March 2023 (2023-03-02)

21:00  UTC−3

Fortaleza	4–0	Deportivo Maldonado
Thiago Galhardo 45+5' Lucero 83', 90+2' Guilherme 86'	Report

Castelão, Fortaleza

Attendance: 52,502 ^[15]

Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)

Fortaleza won 4–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G3).

---

22 February 2023 (2023-02-22)

17:00  UTC−5

El Nacional	2–2	Independiente Medellín
Palacios 55' Carrillo 67' (pen.)	Report	Valencia 19' Londoño 87'

Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito ^{[note 8]}

Referee: Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay)

1 March 2023 (2023-03-01)

19:00  UTC−5

Independiente Medellín	2–1	El Nacional
Monroy 67' Cambindo 73'	Report	Parrales 90+2'

Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín

Attendance: 23,500 ^[17]

Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)

Independiente Medellín won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G4).

---

23 February 2023 (2023-02-23)

19:00  UTC−3

Magallanes	3–0	Always Ready
Vilches 21' Piñero 80' Filla 89'	Report

Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua ^{[note 9]}

Referee: Andrés Merlos (Argentina)

2 March 2023 (2023-03-02)

18:00  UTC−4

Always Ready	1–3	Magallanes
Reyes 90+1'	Report	M. Vásquez 9' Alfaro 50' Flores 53'

Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz ^{[note 10]}

Referee: Alexis Herrera (Venezuela)

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

---

21 February 2023 (2023-02-21)

21:00  UTC−3

Curicó Unido	0–1	Cerro Porteño
	Report	Patiño 89'

Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago ^{[note 11]}

Referee: Yael Falcón Pérez (Argentina)

28 February 2023 (2023-02-28)

19:00  UTC−3

Cerro Porteño	1–0	Curicó Unido
Morales 51'	Report

Estadio General Pablo Rojas, Asunción

Attendance: 17,759 ^[19]

Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

Cerro Porteño won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G3).

---

22 February 2023 (2023-02-22)

21:00  UTC−3

Boston River	0–0	Huracán
	Report

Estadio Centenario, Montevideo ^{[note 5]}

Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

1 March 2023 (2023-03-01)

19:00  UTC−3

Huracán	1–0	Boston River
Cóccaro 45+7' (pen.)	Report

Estadio Tomás Adolfo Ducó, Buenos Aires

Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)

Huracán won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G2).

---

23 February 2023 (2023-02-23)

19:00  UTC−5

Universidad Católica	0–0	Millonarios
	Report

Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito ^{[note 12]}

Referee: Bráulio Machado (Brazil)

2 March 2023 (2023-03-02)

19:00  UTC−5

Millonarios	2–1	Universidad Católica
Castro 62' Cataño 69'	Report	Díaz 38' (pen.)

Estadio El Campín, Bogotá

Attendance: 25,787 ^[21]

Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)

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. ^{[22] [23]}

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Millonarios	2–4	Atlético Mineiro	1–1	1–3
Huracán	0–1	Sporting Cristal	0–0	0–1
Fortaleza	1–3	Cerro Porteño	0–1	1–2
Magallanes	1–3	Independiente Medellín	1–1	0–2

Matches

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)

19:30  UTC−5

Millonarios	1–1	Atlético Mineiro
Silva 42'	Report	Paulinho 66'

Estadio El Campín, Bogotá

Attendance: 33,250 ^[24]

Referee: Piero Maza (Chile)

15 March 2023 (2023-03-15)

21:30  UTC−3

Atlético Mineiro	3–1	Millonarios
Paulinho 49', 81' Hulk 88'	Report	Uribe 90+3'

Mineirão, Belo Horizonte

Attendance: 42,169 ^[25]

Referee: Fernando Rapallini (Argentina)

Atlético Mineiro won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage.

---

9 March 2023 (2023-03-09)

21:00  UTC−3 ^{[note 13]}

Huracán	0–0	Sporting Cristal
	Report

Estadio Tomás Adolfo Ducó, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 8,288 ^[27]

Referee: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)

16 March 2023 (2023-03-16)

19:00  UTC−5 ^{[note 13]}

Sporting Cristal	1–0	Huracán
Ávila 90+7'	Report

Estadio Nacional, Lima ^{[note 7]}

Attendance: 35,832 ^[28]

Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)

Sporting Cristal won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage.

---

9 March 2023 (2023-03-09)

19:00  UTC−3 ^{[note 14]}

Fortaleza	0–1	Cerro Porteño
	Report	Churín 34'

Castelão, Fortaleza

Attendance: 42,275 ^[29]

Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)

16 March 2023 (2023-03-16)

19:00  UTC−3 ^{[note 14]}

Cerro Porteño	2–1	Fortaleza
Carrizo 38' Aquino 62'	Report	Guilherme 90+2'

Estadio General Pablo Rojas, Asunción

Attendance: 35,928 ^[30]

Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)

Cerro Porteño won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage.

---

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)

19:00  UTC−3

Magallanes	1–1	Independiente Medellín
Zapata 90+5'	Report	Batalla 70'

Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua ^{[note 9]}

Attendance: 2,334 ^[31]

Referee: Kevin Ortega (Peru)

15 March 2023 (2023-03-15)

19:00  UTC−5

Independiente Medellín	2–0	Magallanes
Pons 15', 39'	Report

Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín

Attendance: 17,046 ^[32]

Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)

Independiente Medellín won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage.

Notes

1. The Sport Huancayo v Nacional match was played behind closed doors due to security reasons related to the 2022–2023 Peruvian protests. ^[8]
2. Nacional played their home matches at Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción instead of their regular stadium Estadio Arsenio Erico, Asunción, which did not meet CONMEBOL requirements.
3. Nacional Potosí played their home match at Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz instead of their regular stadium Estadio Víctor Agustín Ugarte, Potosí, which did not meet CONMEBOL requirements. ^[9]
4. Referee Flávio de Souza from Brazil, who was originally assigned to the El Nacional v Nacional Potosí match, was replaced by Bruno Arleu from Brazil. ^[10]
5. Boston River played their home matches at Estadio Centenario, Montevideo instead of their regular stadium Estadio Parque Artigas, Las Piedras, which did not meet CONMEBOL requirements.
6. Carabobo played their home match against Atlético Mineiro at Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, Caracas instead of their regular stadium Estadio Misael Delgado, Valencia. ^[12]
7. Sporting Cristal played their home matches at Estadio Nacional, Lima instead of their regular stadium Estadio Alberto Gallardo, Lima, which did not meet CONMEBOL requirements.
8. El Nacional played their home match against Independiente Medellín at Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito instead of their regular stadium Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito. ^[16]
9. Magallanes played their home matches at Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua instead of their regular stadium Estadio Municipal Luis Navarro Avilés, Santiago, which did not meet CONMEBOL requirements.
10. Always Ready played their home match at Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz instead of their regular stadium Estadio Municipal de Villa Ingenio, El Alto, which did not meet CONMEBOL requirements.
11. Curicó Unido played their home match at Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago (originally scheduled at Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua) instead of their regular stadium Estadio La Granja, Curicó, which did not meet CONMEBOL requirements. ^[18]
12. Universidad Católica played their home match against Millonarios at Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito instead of their regular stadium Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito which was reserved for a concert. ^[20]
13. The kickoff time of both legs in Match G2 was changed from 19:00 UTC−3 (17:00 UTC−5) to 21:00 UTC−3 (19:00 UTC−5). ^[26]
14. The kickoff time of both legs in Match G3 was changed from 21:00 UTC−3 to 19:00 UTC−3. ^[26]

References

1. "CALENDÁRIO 2023: CONMEBOL Libertadores - CONMEBOL Sudamericana - RECOPA" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
2. "CONMEBOL Libertadores / Manual de Clubes 2023" (PDF). CONMEBOL. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
3. "La CONMEBOL Libertadores definió los partidos de las Fases 1 y 2" [The CONMEBOL Libertadores defined the matches for Stages 1 and 2] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
4. "Ranking de Clubes CONMEBOL 2023" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL Libertadores. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
5. "RANKING DE CLUBES DE LA CONMEBOL 2021 SISTEMA DE PUNTAJE" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 2 February 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2021.
6. "Fixtures de la CONMEBOL Libertadores y la CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2023" [2023 CONMEBOL Libertadores and CONMEBOL Sudamericana Fixtures] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
7. "CONMEBOL LIBERTADORES 2023 PROGRAMA DE PARTIDOS | Departamento de Competiciones y Operaciones | Versión de 22/12/2022" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
8. "Sport Huancayo jugará a puertas cerradas su partido de Copa Libertadores" (in Spanish). Huancayo: Andina. 6 February 2023.
9. "Nacional Potosí jugará la Copa Libertadores en La Paz" [Nacional Potosí will play the Copa Libertadores in La Paz] (in Spanish). El Potosí. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
10. "Sustitución de árbitro en partido El Nacional vs. Nacional de Potosí" [Referee substitution in El Nacional vs. Nacional de Potosí match] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
11. "CONMEBOL LIBERTADORES 2023 PROGRAMA DE PARTIDOS | Departamento de Competiciones y Operaciones | Versión de 17/02/2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
12. "Cambio de escenario para el juego Carabobo vs. Atlético Mineiro" [Stadium change for the Carabobo vs. Atlético Mineiro match] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
13. "Carabobo X Atlético-MG" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
14. "Sporting Cristal X Nacional" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
15. "Fortaleza X Deportivo Maldonado" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
16. "El Nacional jugará la Fase 2 de Libertadores en el estadio Rodrigo Paz" [El Nacional will play the Libertadores's Stage 2 at the Rodrigo Paz stadium] (in Spanish). Primicias. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
17. "Independiente Medellín X El Nacional" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
18. "Cambio de escenario para el juego Curicó Unido vs. Cerro Porteño" [Stadium change for the Curicó Unido vs. Cerro Porteño match] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
19. "Cerro Porteño X Curicó Unido" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
20. "U. Católica jugará ante Millonarios en el estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado" [U. Católica will play against Millonarios at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium] (in Spanish). Primicias. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
21. "Millonarios X Universidad Católica" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
22. "Fixture para la Fase 3 de la CONMEBOL Libertadores 2023" [Fixture for the third stage of the 2023 CONMEBOL Libertadores] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
23. "CONMEBOL LIBERTADORES 2023 PROGRAMA DE PARTIDOS | Departamento de Competiciones y Operaciones | Versión de 03/03/2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
24. "Millonarios X Atlético-MG" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
25. "Atlético-MG X Millonarios" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
26. "Cambio de horario en dos partidos de la Fase 3" [Time change in two Stage 3 matches] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 5 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
27. "Huracán X Sporting Cristal" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
28. "Sporting Cristal X Huracán" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
29. "Fortaleza X Cerro Porteño" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
30. "Cerro Porteño X Fortaleza" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
31. "Magallanes X Independiente Medellín" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
32. "Independiente Medellín X Magallanes" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

External links

• CONMEBOL Libertadores 2023, CONMEBOL.com