2018 Copa Sudamericana

The 2018 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 17th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the Copa Sudamericana, or Portuguese: Copa Sul-Americana), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.

Brazilian club Atlético Paranaense defeated Colombian club Junior by 4–3 on penalties in the finals after a 2–2 draw on aggregate score to win their first tournament title. As champions, Atlético Paranaense earned the right to play against the winners of the 2018 Copa Libertadores in the 2019 Recopa Sudamericana, and the winners of the 2018 J.League Cup in the 2019 J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship. They also automatically qualified for the 2019 Copa Libertadores group stage. Independiente were the defending champions, but did not play in this edition as they qualified for the 2018 Copa Libertadores group stage as Copa Sudamericana champions and later advanced to the knockout stage.

The following 44 teams from the 10 CONMEBOL associations qualified for the tournament, entering the first stage:

• Argentina and Brazil: 6 berths each
• All other associations: 4 berths each

A further 10 teams eliminated from the 2018 Copa Libertadores were transferred to the Copa Sudamericana, entering the second stage.

The schedule of the competition was as follows.

The draw for the first stage was held on 20 December 2017, 20:00 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay. For the first stage, the teams were divided into two pots according to their geographical zones:

• Pot A (South Zone): 22 teams from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay
• Pot B (North Zone): 22 teams from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela

The 44 teams were drawn into 22 ties (E1–E22) between a team from Pot A and a team from Pot B, with the teams from Pot B hosting the second leg in odd-numbered ties, and the teams from Pot A hosting the second leg in even-numbered ties. This distribution ensured that teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same tie.

The draw for the second stage was held on 4 June 2018, 20:00 PYT (UTC−4), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay. For the second stage, the teams were allocated to two pots according to their previous results in this season:

• Pot 1: 10 teams transferred from the Copa Libertadores and six best winners of the first stage from the Copa Sudamericana
• Pot 2: 16 remaining winners of the first stage from the Copa Sudamericana

The 32 teams were drawn into 16 ties (O1–O16) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, with the teams from Pot 1 hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.

In the first stage, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 27).

The 22 winners of the first stage advanced to the second stage to join the 10 teams transferred from the Copa Libertadores (two best teams eliminated in the third stage of qualifying and eight third-placed teams in the group stage).

In the second stage, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 27).

The 16 winners of the second stage advanced to the round of 16 of the knockout stages.

Notes

Starting from the round of 16, the teams played a single-elimination tournament with the following rules:

• Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg (Regulations Article 22.d).
• In the round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 27).
• In the finals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would not be used, and 30 minutes of extra time would be played. If still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 28).

Starting from the round of 16, the teams were seeded according to the second stage draw, with each team assigned a "seed" 1–16 corresponding to the tie they win (O1–O16) (Regulations Article 22.c).

The bracket was decided based on the second stage draw, which was held on 4 June 2018.

Tied 2–2 on aggregate, Atlético Paranaense won on penalties.

Source: CONMEBOL.com

Source: CONMEBOL.com

• 2018 Copa Libertadores

• 2019 Recopa Sudamericana

• 2019 J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship

• CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2018, CONMEBOL.com