The 2026 Copa Sudamericana group stage was played from 7 April to 28 May 2026. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide 16 of the 24 places in the final stages of the 2026 Copa Sudamericana.
Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 19 March 2026, 20:00 PYT (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.
Teams were seeded by their CONMEBOL Clubs ranking as of 15 December 2025 (shown in parentheses), taking into account the following three factors: Performance in the last 10 years, taking into account Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana results in the period 2016–2025. Historical coefficient, taking into account Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana results in the period 1960–2015 and 2002–2015 respectively. Local tournament champion, with bonus points awarded to domestic league champions of the last 10 years.
For the group stage, the 32 teams were drawn into eight groups (Groups A–H) of four containing a team from each of the four pots. The four losers of the Copa Libertadores third stage were seeded into Pot 4. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.
+Group stage drawPot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4 Notes
The following are the four losers of the third stage of the 2026 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages which joined the 12 direct entrants and the 16 Copa Sudamericana first stage winners in the group stage.
MatchThird stage losersG1 JuventudG2 O'HigginsG3 CaraboboG4 Botafogo
Format
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners of each group advanced to the round of 16 of the final stages, whilst the runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout round play-offs of the final stages.
Tiebreakers Tiebreakers were changed starting from this edition, with head-to-head performance being prioritized over overall goal difference and goals scored. Disciplinary performance (red and yellow cards) was also included, removing away goals scored as well as placement in the CONMEBOL ranking as tiebreakers. The full order of tiebreaking criteria, according to Regulations Article 2.4.3, was as follows: Points Head-to-head points Head-to-head goal difference Head-to-head goals scored Overall goal difference Overall goals scored Red cards Yellow cards Drawing of lots
Schedule The schedule of each matchday was as follows (Regulations Article 2.2.2).
MatchdayDatesMatchesMatchday 17–9 April 2026Team 4 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 1Matchday 214–16 April 2026Team 2 vs. Team 3, Team 1 vs. Team 4Matchday 328–30 April 2026Team 2 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 3Matchday 45–7 May 2026Team 3 vs. Team 2, Team 4 vs. Team 1Matchday 519–21 May 2026Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4Matchday 626–28 May 2026Team 1 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 4
Groups Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Notes
References
External links CONMEBOL Sudamericana CONMEBOL.com