SANTIAGO – The group phase of the Copa Libertadores has already finished. Unfortunately neither Colo-Colo nor Universidad Católica made it through to the next stage. While the “albos” squad failed to perform well, ending last in their group, the “cruzados” defeated Inter Porto Alegre in a breakneck match and were pushed through to the Copa Sudamericana by a last minute goal by Gremio.
Although no Chilean national team was able to qualify for the most important club tournament on the continent, Copa Libertadores, five Chilean clubs will be present in the second most important one, the Copa Sudamericana.
In addition to Universidad Católica, representing Chilean football will be Audax Italiano, Coquimbo Unido, Unión La Calera, and Huachipato. Like the other teams that do not come from the Copa Libertadores, these squads have been waiting for months for the competition to resume, since the tournament was suspended in February, before the pandemic.
The Conmebol’s Copa Sudamericana draw took place in Luque, Paraguay. These are the matchups:
- Unión La Calera, the first national club to appear in the draw, will face Deportes Tolima (Colombia), a team that comes from phase 3 of Copa Libertadores. The first match ended in a 0-0 draw.
- Universidad Católica will receive Sol de América from Paraguay. The first match in Asunción ended also in a 0-0 draw.
- Audax Italiano will ascend to high-altitude La Paz, to face the always-difficult Bolivar, the most important squad in Bolivia. The first match in Santiago was won with 2-1.
- Coquimbo Unido, in their first appearance in the Copa Sudamericana, will head up to Venezuela to try to beat Estudiantes de Mérida. The first leg ended in a 3-0 victory for the Chileans.
- For its part, Huachipato, the last Chilean squad to appear in the draw, will meet Fenix (Uruguay). In the first game, the Chileans lost 3-1.
