The draw has happened. The groups are set. The Copa Libertadores 2026, in its 67th edition, has names and dates since March 19, when CONMEBOL gathered 32 teams from 10 countries at its headquarters in Luque, Paraguay. The balls were drawn by legends Felipe Melo and Óscar Ruggeri, and what emerged is a tournament with clear frontrunners but more unknowns than usual. The group stage runs from April 7 to May 28, and the grand final will be played on November 28 at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo — with a $25 million prize for the champion, the richest club match prize in the world.

The Complete Groups

• Group A: Flamengo (BRA), Estudiantes de La Plata (ARG), Independiente Medellín (COL), Cusco FC (PER)
• Group B: Nacional (URU), Universitario (PER), Coquimbo Unido (CHI), Deportes Tolima (COL)
• Group C: Fluminense (BRA), Bolívar (BOL), Deportivo La Guaira (VEN), Independiente Rivadavia (ARG)
• Group D: Boca Juniors (ARG), Cruzeiro (BRA), Universidad Católica (CHI), Barcelona SC (ECU)
• Group E: Peñarol (URU), Corinthians (BRA), Santa Fe (COL), Platense (ARG)
• Group F: Palmeiras (BRA), Cerro Porteño (PAR), Junior (COL), Sporting Cristal (PER)
• Group G: LDU Quito (ECU), Lanús (ARG), Always Ready (BOL), Mirassol (BRA)
• Group H: Independiente del Valle (ECU), Libertad (PAR), Rosario Central (ARG), Universidad Central (VEN)

The 5 Real Title Contenders

1. Flamengo — The champions with an internal bomb

Flamengo arrive as reigning champions with the most expensive squad on the continent, valued at over €223 million. Their marquee signing is Lucas Paquetá, €42 million from West Ham — the most expensive transfer in South American football history. But in March 2026, the club experienced one of the most bizarre episodes in continental football: Filipe Luis was fired hours after a stunning 8-0 win over Madureira when the board discovered the coach had been holding parallel talks with Chelsea while renegotiating his contract. His replacement is Portuguese manager Leonardo Jardim, former Ligue 1 champion with Monaco. Group A is manageable, but Flamengo open on April 7 with an untested new manager. When Paquetá and Arrascaeta play together, they are the hardest team to defend against on the continent. The uncertainty is immense.

2. Palmeiras — Fuelled by revenge

Palmeiras lost the Lima final to Flamengo and they want revenge. That motivation, in a club with the institutional solidity of the Verdão and Abel Ferreira as coach — the longest-serving manager of the same club in South American football — is not a cliché. Three Libertadores finals in five years prove a consistency no other club can match. With Estêvão's departure to Chelsea, they bet on Vitor Roque as their new attacking pivot and Colombian Jhon Arias as the wide threat. Their Group F, featuring Cerro Porteño, Junior, and Sporting Cristal, is the most manageable among the main candidates. Their DNA is clear: intelligent pressing, solid defence, fast transitions. They don't play to entertain. They play to win.

3. Boca Juniors — The return in the toughest group

Boca Juniors return to the group stage after two consecutive absences, landing in Group D alongside Cruzeiro, Universidad Católica, and Barcelona SC — the most demanding group for any Argentine side. Leandro Paredes, World Cup winner and club captain, brings calm under pressure and elite-level experience. But Boca carry something untrainable: at La Bombonera on knockout nights, the atmosphere becomes as decisive as any tactic. Seven international finals won. Six continental titles. The dream of a seventh star, the first since 2007, drives an entire fanbase.

4. Corinthians — The uncomfortable candidate

The Timão return to the Libertadores after winning the Copa do Brasil against Vasco da Gama, in their 19th appearance in the tournament. Manager Dorival Júnior carries the legitimacy of that title. Group E, with Peñarol, Santa Fe, and Platense, is competitive but without a dominant force. Memphis Depay was key in the Copa do Brasil but faces a muscular injury for the opener. And the signing generating the most excitement is Jesse Lingard, the English midfielder and ex-Manchester United player who signed until December 2026 on March 6, reuniting with Depay in South America. The duo of European stars gives Corinthians an individual dimension no other team in the tournament possesses.

5. Fluminense — The talent with risk

Fluminense top Group C, the most accessible of the main candidates: Bolívar, Deportivo La Guaira, and Independiente Rivadavia. Manager Luis Zubeldía, who took charge in September 2025, has rebuilt the team with stronger collective organisation. John Kennedy — the striker whose goal against Boca in the 2023 Maracaná final gave Fluminense their first-ever Libertadores title — is now living his best football maturity. Alongside him, Germán Cano remains a decisive impact substitute. The duality between quality and consistency is the central debate: if Zubeldía maintains early-2026 form, Fluminense have real arguments to reach the final.

3 Dark Horses Nobody Is Ignoring

LDU Quito — The hunger of unfinished continental business

LDU Quito reached the Libertadores semifinals in 2025, eliminating higher-budget rivals along the way. In 2026, manager Tiago Nunes has impactful reinforcements: Deyverson, the Brazilian striker with a Palmeiras past, as the attacking reference, and Ricardo Adé, the Haitian centre-back who has been a defensive pillar since 2023 and is a key figure for the Haiti national team that qualified for the 2026 World Cup. Group G, with Lanús, Always Ready, and debutants Mirassol, has the right characteristics for LDU to advance with authority. They were champions in 2008 and every time they appear at this level, that memory drives them.

Lanús — The champions who earned their place

Lanús are the Copa Sudamericana 2025 champions and Recopa Sudamericana 2026 winners, a title won at the Maracaná against Flamengo — the result that directly cost Filipe Luis his job. Manager Mauricio Pellegrino has built a disciplined, collective, and deeply uncomfortable side in two-legged knockout football. Their star is playmaker Marcelino Moreno, the number 10 who registered 18 goals and 18 assists in 74 matches in 2025 and turned down offers from River and Boca to stay at Lanús and play in this Libertadores. In Group G, they have clear conditions to qualify with authority — and in the last 16, no one wants to face them.

Independiente del Valle — The template everyone copies, but nobody replicates

IDV are no longer the tournament's surprise. They are the model everyone studies and few can replicate. Top seeds in Group H, they lead the LigaPro 2026 with 13 points from six matches. Manager Joaquín Papa, the Uruguayan who arrived in December 2025, inherited a project so solid his high-press, offensive philosophy fit almost naturally. Jordy Alcívar remains the engine — most metres covered, most balls recovered, most clarity in transition. New signing Matías Perelló, the Argentine winger from Argentinos Juniors who became the club's most expensive transfer, is already scoring in the LigaPro. IDV reached the Sudamericana final in 2022 and Libertadores semifinals in 2025. In a tournament where big clubs implode under expectations, IDV never disorganises.

Who Will Lift the Trophy in Montevideo?

The Copa Libertadores 2026 has no clear owner. Flamengo have the best players on paper but start with an untested new manager. Palmeiras have continuity and the motivation of a team that lost a final and wants revenge. Boca Juniors are the unpredictable factor, with La Bombonera as a weapon. Corinthians and Fluminense complete the group with different arguments: one competes better than they play, the other plays better than they compete. And then there are the teams no one wants to face in the round of 16: IDV with their system solidity, LDU with their semifinal experience, and Lanús with the confidence of being the only team to have beaten Flamengo twice already in 2026.

"The tournament is not decided in the groups. It is decided on the August and September nights when margins shrink and experience outweighs budget. The Estadio Centenario awaits. The champion does not yet know they are."