When the first two rivals were drawn, Juan Román Riquelme
's face
said it all.
Facing
Fortaleza
, finalist of the last
Sudamericana
, and
Nacional de Potosí
, a team that has the momentum of altitude in Bolivia, leaves them facing a
very brave
group , D.
Sportivo Trinidense
, absolute debutant at continental level, can only be a Cinderella.
The balls did not favor
Boca
, one of the top candidates to win the Cup that they won in 2004 and 2005, a consolation after being left out of the
Libertadores
, their greatest obsession.
Racing has short trips
, which is always a relief, but it will have a major obstacle in
Bragantino
, which is the protagonist of the São Paulo championship, where it is the leader in its area.
Facing a Brazilian club was in the calculations.
Coquimbo Unidos
of Chile and
Sportivo Luqueño
will be their remaining opponents in group H.
South American Cup 2024
Group stage.
Source:
Conmebol
Infographic:
Clarín
To qualify for the
round of 16
of the second most important continental tournament,
Boca and Racing must finish first
.
The runners-up will face the third-place finishers from the Libertadores in the round of 32,
a kind of playoff that gave greater prominence to the competition and rewarded merit
.
After all, in 2022 there were guards who finished with more points than the leaders, but they were eliminated.
This situation warranted the regulatory change.
What awaits Boca?
Fortaleza, directed by Juan Pablo Vojvoda, has six Argentines: Tomás Cardona (former Defensa y Justicia), Gonzalo Escobar (former Colón), Emanuel Brítez (former Unión), Tomás Pochettino (former River and Boca), Imanol Machuca (former Unión ) and Juan Manuel Lucero (former Vélez and Independiente).
For this season, it incorporated eleven players.
Photo: EFE/ Daniel Piris POOL
Nacional
plays at the Víctor Agustín Ugarte stadium, which is
3,885 meters above sea level
, with all that that implies for the physique of the players from the plain, and despite the difference in hierarchy.
He is a leader in zone B of the Bolivian League and has a curiosity that fuels morbidity: his shirt is inspired by River, with the red band on the white chest.
Trinidense has a squad whose price is not enough to pay half of
Cristian Medina
's clause .
He is second to last in the Paraguayan championship and three Argentines stand out:
Diego Mercado
(former Chicago),
Julián Bonetto
(former Quilmes) and
Alexander Sosa
(former Patronato).
Racing will deal with Bragantino
, but Coquimbo Unidos (it is in 11th place out of 16 teams) and Sportivo Luqueño (4th in a tournament of 12) do not seem to be an impediment to qualification aspirations.
Andrés Chávez (former Banfield and Boca) plays for the Chileans.
Among the Paraguayans, we must highlight Nicolás Maná, who was directed by Gustavo Costas in Guaraní.
The rest of the Argentine teams will have to analyze different variables.
Defense and Justice
will have many trips (Medellín, Trujillo and La Paz).
Lanús
has a Brazilian (Cuiabá) who can complicate it, apart from Metropolitanos and Garcilazo.
Belgrano plays at a disadvantage against the powerful Inter de Porto Alegre
and Delfín and the unknown Deportivo Tomayapo do not seem to scare them.
Argentinos Juniors
, on the other hand, may say that the distances are short, but Corinthians will be in front, in addition to the Uruguayan version of Racing and Nacional, bottom of the Paraguayan tournament.
How much is the prize money for the Copa Sudamericana?
The 2024 edition will have better prizes than the previous one.
There will be
80,184,000 dollars to be distributed
, broken down as follows: 300 thousand for each match in the group stage, plus 110 thousand for sporting merit.
The playoff with the third place of the Libertadores will deliver 500 thousand.
There will be 600 thousand to qualify for the round of 16, 700 thousand for the quarterfinals and 800 thousand for the semifinal.
The champion will have received an extra 6 million
.
The runner-up, meanwhile, will take home 2 million.
The matches will begin to be played the first week of April and the group stage will end at the end of May
.
The 16th will be after the Copa América (July 17 and 24).
The eighths, in August (weeks from 14 to 21).
The quarters, in September (18 to 25).
The semis, in October (23 to 30).
And the final will be on November 23, still at a venue to be confirmed.