Buenos Aires, March 19 (NA) – The groups for the next edition of the Copa Sudamericana have been defined, with the competition set to begin the week of Monday, April 13. According to the Argentine News Agency, River Plate will share a group with Red Bull Bragantino of Brazil, Blooming of Bolivia, and Carabobo of Venezuela. Racing will be the seeded team in the group it forms with Venezuelan Caracas, Bolivian Independiente Petrolero, and Brazilian Botafogo, while San Lorenzo will face Brazilian Santos, Ecuadorian Deportivo Cuenca, and Paraguayan Recoleta. Among other Argentine teams, Tigre will play with América de Cali of Colombia, Macará of Ecuador, and Alianza Atlético of Peru. Deportivo Riestra will face Brazilian Grêmio, Chilean Palestino, and Uruguayan Montevideo City Torque, while Barracas Central will play against Paraguayan Olimpia, Brazilian Vasco Da Gama, and Chilean Audax Italiano. Additionally, in its second historical participation in the tournament, Juventud de Las Piedras of Uruguay was placed in the fourth pot and will share a zone with Brazilian Atlético Mineiro, Peruvian Cienciano, and Academia Puerto Cabello of Venezuela. After a draw held at the headquarters of CONMEBOL in the Paraguayan city of Luque, the groups for the Copa Sudamericana 2026 have been set. As seeded teams, River and Racing were placed in groups H and E, respectively. The 'Millionaire' will share the group with Red Bull Bragantino of Brazil, which qualified for the tournament by finishing tenth in the Brasileirão 2025, Blooming of Bolivia, which finished fifth in the Bolivian tournament and plays home in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, at 416 meters above sea level, and Carabobo, which was second in the Venezuelan accumulated table but fell in the last preliminary round of the Copa Libertadores. On the other hand, Racing will share a group with Caracas, fourth in the Venezuelan accumulated table, Independiente Petrolero, sixth in the Bolivian annual table that surpassed the first preliminary round of the Sudamericana, and Botafogo of Brazil, sixth in the Brasileirão that could not overcome the qualifying stages of the Libertadores. The groups of the Copa Sudamericana 2026: GROUP A: América de Cali of Colombia, Tigre, Macará of Ecuador, Alianza Atlético of Peru. GROUP B: Atlético Mineiro of Brazil, Cienciano of Peru, Academia Puerto Cabello of Venezuela, Juventud de Las Piedras of Uruguay. GROUP C: São Paulo of Brazil, Millonarios of Colombia, Boston River of Uruguay, O’Higgins of Chile. GROUP D: Santos of Brazil, San Lorenzo, Deportivo Cuenca of Ecuador, Recoleta of Paraguay. GROUP E: Racing, Caracas of Venezuela, Independiente Petrolero of Bolivia, Botafogo of Brazil. GROUP F: Grêmio of Brazil, Palestino of Chile, Montevideo City Torque of Uruguay, Deportivo Riestra. GROUP G: Olimpia of Paraguay, Vasco Da Gama of Brazil, Audax Italiano of Chile, Barracas Central. GROUP H: River Plate, Red Bull Bragantino of Brazil, Blooming of Bolivia, Carabobo of Venezuela.
