The 2020 Copa Sudamericana final was the final match which decided the winner of the 2020 Copa Sudamericana, the 19th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary international club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
The match was played on 23 January 2021 at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba, Argentina, between Argentine teams Lanús and Defensa y Justicia. It was held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South America.
The final was originally scheduled to be played on 7 November 2020. However, as the tournament had been interrupted since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CONMEBOL announced on 10 July 2020 that it would be rescheduled to be played in late January 2021, with 23, 24 or 30 January being the possible dates. Eventually, on 9 November 2020, CONMEBOL determined that the final would be played on 23 January 2021.
Defensa y Justicia defeated Lanús by a 3–0 score to win their first Copa Sudamericana title. This victory also meant the first title in the history of the team.Defensa y Justicia, campeón de la Copa Sudamericana by Ariel Ruya on La Nación, 23 Jan 2021Aprendan a confiar on TyC Sports, 24 Jan 2021Defensa y Justicia es el nuevo campeón by Fabio Lannutti on Pagina/12, 24 Jan 2021 As champions, Defensa y Justicia earned the right to play against the winners of the 2020 Copa Libertadores in the 2021 Recopa Sudamericana. They also automatically qualified for the 2021 Copa Libertadores group stage.
This was the first time both Copa Sudamericana finalists represented the same country. As of 2025, this is the only all-Argentine Copa Sudamericana final and the only time Copa Sudamericana was awarded in a derby (as both clubs represent the province of Buenos Aires).
Venue Since 2019, the Copa Sudamericana final is played as a single match at a venue chosen in advance. CONMEBOL announced on 15 October 2019 that the following four venues were candidates for the 2020 final:
On 17 October 2019, CONMEBOL announced that Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba was chosen as the 2020 final venue.
AssociationStadiumCityCapacityEstadio Mario Alberto KempesCórdoba57,000Estadio Ciudad de La PlataLa Plata53,000Estádio Nacional Mané GarrinchaBrasília72,788Estadio NacionalLima50,000
Teams TeamPrevious finals appearances (bold indicates winners) Lanús1 (2013) Defensa y JusticiaNone
Road to the final Note: In all scores below, the score of the finalist is given first. LanúsRound Defensa y JusticiaCopa SudamericanaCopa LibertadoresQualified for Copa Sudamericana First stageByeSecond stageThird stageGroup stageGroup GMatchday 1 SantosHome1–2Matchday 2 OlimpiaAway1–2Matchday 3 DelfínHome3–0Matchday 4 OlimpiaHome2–1Matchday 5 DelfínAway0–3Matchday 6 SantosAway1–2Final standingsOpponentVenueScoreEliminationOpponentVenueScore Universidad Católica (won 3–2 on aggregate)Home3–0First stageByeAway0–2 São Paulo (tied 6–6 on aggregate, won on away goals)Home3–2Second stage Sportivo Luqueño (won 3–2 on aggregate)Away2–1Away3–4Home1–1Seed 8Final stagesSeed 10 Bolívar (won 7–4 on aggregate)Away1–2Round of 16 Vasco da Gama (won 2–1 on aggregate)Home1–1Home6–2Away1–0 Independiente (won 3–1 on aggregate)Home0–0Quarter-finals Bahia (won 4–2 on aggregate)Away3–2Away3–1Home1–0 Vélez Sarsfield (won 4–0 on aggregate)Away1–0Semi-finals Coquimbo Unido (won 4–2 on aggregate)Away0–0Home3–0Home4–2
Match
GK 17 Lautaro MoralesRB 35 Braian AguirreCB 3 Guillermo Burdisso CB 6 Alexis Pérez LB 25 Alexandro Bernabei RM 8 Pedro De la Vega CM 13 Tomás BelmonteCM 19 Facundo Quignon LM 14 Lucas Vera RF 27 Nicolás Orsini LF 9 José Sand (c)Substitutes:GK 1 Lucas AcostaDF 22 Matías PérezDF 23 Julián AudeDF 24 Nicolás MorgantiniDF 29 Nicolás ThallerDF 39 Pablo ArandaMF 5 Fernando Belluschi MF 10 Gastón LodicoMF 16 Facundo Pérez MF 20 Matías EsquivelFW 11 Franco Orozco FW 41 Lucas Besozzi Manager: Luis Zubeldía
GK 22 Ezequiel Unsain (c)CB 2 Adonis Frías CB 21 David MartínezCB 18 Rafael DelgadoDM 34 Enzo Fernández RM 33 Franco ParedesCM 29 Francisco PizziniCM 35 Valentín Larralde LM 23 Eugenio IsnaldoRF 20 Walter Bou LF 31 Braian Romero Substitutes:GK 1 Marcos LedesmaDF 3 Marcelo Benítez DF 6 Nahuel GallardoDF 25 Néstor BreitenbruchDF 37 Emanuel Brítez MF 5 Nelson AcevedoMF 11 Washington Camacho FW 9 Miguel Merentiel FW 12 Ciro RiusFW 15 Nicolás LeguizamónFW 19 Gabriel HachenFW 27 Enzo CoacciManager: Hernán Crespo
Man of the Match: Braian Romero (Defensa y Justicia)
Assistant referees: Nicolás Tarán (Uruguay) Richard Trinidad (Uruguay) Fourth official: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay) Fifth official: Jorge Urrego (Venezuela) Video assistant referee: Julio Bascuñán (Chile) Assistant video assistant referees: Ángelo Hermosilla (Chile) Raúl Orellana (Chile) Víctor Carrillo (Peru)Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Twelve named substitutes. Maximum of five substitutions.
See also 2020 Copa Libertadores final 2021 Recopa Sudamericana
Notes
References
External links CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2020, CONMEBOL.com