River Plate of Argentina crashed out of the Copa Libertadores after a shock 4-2 loss to Paraguayan club Nacional on Thursday in the tournament’s Group 3.
Fellow Argentine team Boca Juniors also suffered a surprise 1-0 away defeat against Deportivo Cuenca of Ecuador, but the six-time former champions should still qualify from Group 2.
River’s last group match is now meaningless, while Boca need just a point from their final group fixture next week to qualify.
PHOTO: AP
River’s loss meant Peruvian club Universidad San Martin qualified alongside Nacional of Uruguay from Group 3.
Two teams qualify from each of the eight groups of four to play in the Copa Libertadores knock-out round.
Nine teams have now booked their places in the next round, with 12 matches next week to decide the seven clubs that will complete the lineup.
Two groups finished their fixtures this week, with Sao Paulo and Defensor Sporting progressing from Group 4, while Estudiantes qualified behind Cruzeiro in Group 5.
Two-time former champions River Plate needed to avoid defeat against already eliminated Nacional to keep their qualification hopes alive and the Paraguayan side were not expected to provide stiff competition after taking just one point from four previous group matches.
River took the lead through a Radomel Falcao penalty after 41 minutes, but Nacional leveled with a penalty of their own by Fabio Escobar in first-half stoppage-time.
River, four points behind second-placed Universidad San Martin in the table at the start of play, pushed forward looking for a win in the second half, but Diego Buonanotte was sent off after 58 minutes and gaps in their defense proved costly.
Substitute Jorge Nunez scored in the 65th minute and 78th minute, while Carlos Ruiz struck after 73 minutes to put Nacional three in front.
River striker Marcelo Gallardo scored from a free-kick in the 81st minute to cut the deficit.
Nacional of Uruguay host Nacional of Paraguay and Universidad travel to River in the final fixtures next Thursday to decide which club tops the group.
In Ecuador, Boca Juniors appeared to be cruising to a 0-0 draw and the point necessary to progress from Group 2 in top spot, but a goal by Edison Preciado in the 77th minute gave Deportivo Cuenca victory.
Boca lead the group with 12 points, Cuenca and Tachira are tied on nine, while Guarani of Paraguay are bottom with no points.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
RSS