2024 U-20 Copa Libertadores

The 2024 U-20 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores (Spanish: Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub-20 2024) was the 8th edition of the U-20 CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the U-20 Copa Libertadores), South America's premier under-20 club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. It was held in Uruguay from 2 to 17 March 2024.[1][2]

2024 U-20 Copa Libertadores
Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub-20
Uruguay 2024
Tournament details
Host countryUruguay
Dates2–17 March 2024
Teams12 (from 10 associations)
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsBrazil Flamengo (1st title)
Runners-upArgentina Boca Juniors
Third placeArgentina Rosario Central
Fourth placeEcuador Aucas
Tournament statistics
Matches played22
Goals scored67 (3.05 per match)
Top scorer(s)Brazil Iago
Brazil Wallace Yan
(4 goals each)
2023
2025

Boca Juniors were the defending champions.

Teams

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The competition was contested by 12 teams: the title holders, the youth champions from each of the ten CONMEBOL member associations, and one additional team from the host association.[3]

Association Team Qualifying method Participation Previous best result
  Argentina Boca Juniors (holders) 2023 U-20 Copa Libertadores champions 4th Champions (2023)
Rosario Central 2023 Cuarta División (U-20) runners-up[Note ARG][4][5] 1st
  Bolivia Always Ready 2023 U-20 Torneo Nacional champions[6] 2nd Group stage (2023)
  Brazil Flamengo 2023 Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-20 champions[7] 3rd Third place (2020)
  Chile Colo-Colo 2024 Supercopa Proyección winners[Note CHI][8][9] 3rd Group stage (2018, 2020)
  Colombia Águilas Doradas 2023 Supercopa Juvenil champions[10][11] 1st
  Ecuador Aucas 2023 Campeonato Nacional de Categorías Formativas U-19 champions[12][13] 1st
  Paraguay Olimpia 2023 U-19 Torneo Anual champions[14] 1st
  Peru Sporting Cristal 2023 Torneo de Promoción y Reserva champions[15] 4th Group stage (2012, 2020, 2022)
  Uruguay (hosts) Defensor Sporting 2023 Campeonato Uruguayo Juvenil Divisional A U-19 champions[16] 3rd Runners-up (2012)
Montevideo City Torque 2023 Campeonato Uruguayo Juvenil Divisional A U-19 runners-up[16] 1st
  Venezuela Academia Puerto Cabello 2023 Liga FUTVE Junior U-20 champions[17] 2nd Group stage (2020)
  1. Argentina (ARG): Since Boca Juniors qualified via the reigning champions' berth and were also champions of the 2023 Cuarta División (U-20), the Argentine berth went to the runners-up Rosario Central.[5]
  2. Chile (CHI): Chile's berth was decided in a play-off match between Colo-Colo, the 2023 Campeonato Nacional Proyección Apertura champions,[18] and Palestino, the 2023 Campeonato Nacional Proyección Clausura champions.

Squads

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Players born between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2008 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team could register a maximum of 20 and a minimum of 16 players, including at least 2 goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 47 and 50).[3]

Venues

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Uruguay was confirmed as host country of the tournament on 20 December 2023.[2] This will be the second time that Uruguay hosts the tournament having previously done so in 2018.[19]

Colonia del Sacramento and Maldonado were selected as host cities and announced after the draw.[20] Estadio Profesor Alberto Suppici in Colonia hosted the matches of groups A and B matches while Estadio Domingo Burgueño in Maldonado hosted the group C and the final stage matches.[21]

Draw

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The draw for the group stage was held on 13 February 2024, 12:00 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL headquarters in Luque, Paraguay.[22] The draw was conducted according to the following guidelines:[22]

  • The defending champions Boca Juniors were automatically assigned to Group A, position A1.
  • The remaining 11 teams were seeded into four pots; one of two teams and three of three teams, based on the final placement of their national association's club in the previous edition of the tournament, in order to be drawn into three groups of four.
  • Teams from the two best associations (Argentina and Ecuador) were seeded into Pot 1 and drawn to the first position of groups B or C. The first team drawn was placed into Group B and the second team drawn placed into Group C.
  • Teams from the next three associations (Paraguay, Uruguay 1 and Venezuela) were seeded into Pot 2 and drawn to the second position of groups A, B or C.
  • Teams from the next three associations (Brazil, Colombia and Chile) were seeded into Pot 3 and drawn to the third position of groups A, B or C.
  • Teams from the last two associations (Peru and Bolivia) and the additional team from the host association (Uruguay 2) were seeded into Pot 4 and drawn to the fourth position of groups A, B or C.
  • From pots 2, 3 and 4, the first team drawn was placed into Group A, the second team drawn placed into Group B and the final team drawn placed into Group C. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  1. ^
    CHI The identity of the team Chile was not known at the time of the draw.

The draw resulted in the following groups:[23]

Group A
Pos Team
A1   Boca Juniors
A2   Academia Puerto Cabello
A3   Colo-Colo
A4   Always Ready
Group B
Pos Team
B1   Rosario Central
B2   Olimpia
B3   Águilas Doradas
B4   Montevideo City Torque
Group C
Pos Team
C1   Aucas
C2   Defensor Sporting
C3   Flamengo
C4   Sporting Cristal

Match officials

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On 21 February 2024, CONMEBOL announced that its Referee Commission had appointed 11 referees and 22 assistant referees for the tournament.[24] For the first time, a UEFA refereeing team will officiate in the U-20 Copa Libertadores as part of the UEFA–CONMEBOL memorandum of understanding signed in February 2020, which included a referee exchange programme.[25] It will be also the first time that women assistant referees will participate in the tournament.[26]

Group stage

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The winners of each group and the best runner-up among all groups advanced to the semi-finals.

Tiebreakers

In the group stage, teams were ranked according to points earned (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Articles 20, 21):[3]

  1. Head-to-head result in games between tied teams;
    • Head-to-head points in the matches played among the tied teams;
    • Head-to-head goal difference in the matches played among the tied teams;
    • Head-to-head goals scored in the matches played among the tied teams;
  2. Goal difference;
  3. Goals scored;
  4. Fewest number of red cards received;
  5. Fewest number of yellow cards received;
  6. Drawing of lots.

All match times were local, UYT (UTC−3), as listed by CONMEBOL.[27][28][29]

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Boca Juniors 3 2 1 0 6 0 +6 7 Semi-finals
2   Academia Puerto Cabello 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 6
3   Colo-Colo 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2 4
4   Always Ready 3 0 0 3 1 12 −11 0
Source: CONMEBOL
Academia Puerto Cabello  2–1  Colo-Colo
Report Alarcón   50'
Boca Juniors  4–0  Always Ready
Report

Academia Puerto Cabello  5–1  Always Ready
Report Massi   89'

Always Ready  0–3  Colo-Colo
Report

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Rosario Central 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6 Semi-finals
2   Olimpia 3 1 1 1 2 1 +1 4
3   Montevideo City Torque (H) 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4
4   Águilas Doradas 3 1 0 2 5 7 −2 3
Source: CONMEBOL
(H) Hosts
Olimpia  2–0  Águilas Doradas
Report
Rosario Central  2–1  Montevideo City Torque
Report Morales   33' (pen.)


Montevideo City Torque  4–3  Águilas Doradas
Report
Rosario Central  1–0  Olimpia
Ponce   71' Report

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Flamengo 3 3 0 0 7 2 +5 9 Semi-finals
2   Aucas 3 2 0 1 8 5 +3 6
3   Defensor Sporting (H) 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
4   Sporting Cristal 3 0 0 3 2 9 −7 0
Source: CONMEBOL
(H) Hosts
Aucas  3–1  Sporting Cristal
Report Uculmana   71'

Flamengo  2–1  Aucas
Report Conforme   58'
Defensor Sporting  2–0  Sporting Cristal
Report

Sporting Cristal  1–4  Flamengo
Rodríguez   57' Report
Aucas  4–2  Defensor Sporting
Report

Ranking of group runners-up

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Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 C   Aucas 3 2 0 1 8 5 +3 6 Semi-finals
2 A   Academia Puerto Cabello 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 6
3 B   Olimpia 3 1 1 1 2 1 +1 4
Source: CONMEBOL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Red cards; 5) Yellow cards; 6) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 22).[3]

Final stage

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The semi-final matchups were:

  • Group A winner vs. Best runner-up
  • Group B winner vs. Group C winner

The semi-final winners and losers played in the final and third place match respectively. If tied after full time, a penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 24).[3]

All match times were local, UYT (UTC−3), as listed by CONMEBOL.[30]

Bracket

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
14 March
 
 
  Boca Juniors2
 
17 March
 
  Aucas1
 
  Boca Juniors1
 
14 March
 
  Flamengo2
 
  Rosario Central1
 
 
  Flamengo2
 
Third place
 
 
17 March
 
 
  Aucas1
 
 
  Rosario Central2

Semi-finals

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Boca Juniors  2–1  Aucas
Report Di Lollo   88' (o.g.)

Rosario Central  1–2  Flamengo
Moscoloni   20' Report Iago   57' (pen.), 72'

Third place match

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Aucas  1–2  Rosario Central
Zambrano   54' (pen.) Report

Final

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Boca Juniors  1–2  Flamengo
Rodríguez   5' Report

Goalscorers

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There were 67 goals scored in 22 matches, for an average of 3.05 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

References

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  1. ^ "Todos los torneos de la CONMEBOL para el 2024" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 12 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Sedes y fechas de torneos CONMEBOL 2024" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 20 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e "REGLAMENTO CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub20 2024" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 23 January 2024.
  4. ^ "ASOCIACIÓN DEL FÚTBOL ARGENTINO BOLETÍN ESPECIAL Nº 6263 REGLAMENTO TORNEO CATEGORÍAS JUVENILES DE LA LIGA PROFESIONAL DE FÚTBOL DE AFA TEMPORADA 2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). Argentine Football Association. 9 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Vamos los pibes: Newell's gritó campeón en 5ª división y la 4ª de Central clasificó a la Libertadores sub 20" (in Spanish). Channel 3. 12 November 2023.
  6. ^ Apaza, Paulo (16 December 2023). "Always Ready se corona bicampeón del torneo Nacional Sub-20" [Always Ready is crowned two-times champions of the U-20 Torneo Nacional] (in Spanish). La Paz: La Razón.
  7. ^ "Regulamento Específico da Competição Brasileiro Sub-20 2023" (PDF) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Brazilian Football Confederation. 17 February 2023.
  8. ^ "FÚTBOL FORMATIVO BASES CAMPEONATOS NACIONALES GATORADE CATEGORIAS SUB 15, SUB 16, SUB 17 Y PROYECCIÓN - VARONES TEMPORADA – 2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). Santiago: Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional. December 2022 [Approved on 12 January 2023].
  9. ^ "Colo Colo superó a Palestino en la Supercopa Proyección 2024 y clasificó a la Conmebol Libertadores Sub 20". campeonatochileno.cl (in Spanish). Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional. 15 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Reglamento Supercopa Juvenil FCF 2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). Bogotá: Colombian Football Federation. 27 February 2023.
  11. ^ "FCF felicita a Águilas Doradas por conquistar el título de la Supercopa Juvenil 2023" (in Spanish). Colombian Football Federation. 3 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Reglamento de los Campeonatos Nacionales de Categorías Formativas 2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). Guayaquil: Ecuadorian Football Federation. 30 March 2023 [Approved on 27 March 2023].
  13. ^ "Aucas es campeón Sub 19 y jugará la Copa Libertadores Sub 20" (in Spanish). Olé. 20 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Olimpia es el monarca de la Sub 19" (in Spanish). Paraguayan Football Association. 26 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Sporting Cristal, campeón del Torneo de Promoción y Reservas tras vencer en la final a Universitario de Deportes" (in Spanish). Futbolperuano.com. 23 November 2022.
  16. ^ a b "La próxima Copa Libertadores sub-20 se jugará en Uruguay. ¿Qué equipos locales se meten?" (in Spanish). Montevideo Portal. 20 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Academia Rey, Caracas, Zamora, Metropolitanos Y Puerto Cabello monarcas de la Liga FUTVE Junior" (in Spanish). Venezuelan Football Federation. 2 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Colo Colo venció a O'Higgins y es el nuevo monarca del Proyección Gatorade". campeonatochileno.cl (in Spanish). Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional. 18 June 2023.
  19. ^ "La Copa Libertadores sub 20 será en Uruguay en 2024; mirá qué equipos locales están clasificados" (in Spanish). El Observador. 21 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Maldonado y Colonia serán Sedes" (in Spanish). La Prensa. 14 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Las promesas del fútbol sudamericano salen a la cancha" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 2 March 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Conoceremos los grupos para la CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub20 2024" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 25 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Grupos confirmados para la CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub20 2024" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 13 February 2024.
  24. ^ "Árbitros convocados para la CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub20" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 21 February 2024.
  25. ^ "La CONMEBOL y la UEFA acuerdan cooperación en materia arbitral" [CONMEBOL and UEFA agree to cooperation in arbitration matters]. CONMEBOL.com (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 21 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Árbitras participarán por primera vez en la CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub20" [Female referees will participate for the first time in CONMEBOL Libertadores U20] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 21 February 2024.
  27. ^ @LibertadoresU20 (16 February 2024). "¡Todo definido! El cronograma de partidos del Grupo A de la CONMEBOL #LibertadoresSub20" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ @LibertadoresU20 (16 February 2024). "¡Fixture listo! Días y horarios confirmados para los partidos del Grupo B en la CONMEBOL #LibertadoresSub20" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  29. ^ @LibertadoresU20 (16 February 2024). "¡Partidos confirmados! Este es el cronograma de juegos para los equipos del Grupo C de la CONMEBOL #LibertadoresSub20" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  30. ^ @LibertadoresU20 (11 March 2024). "¡Horario confirmado! Así se jugará la Fase Final de la CONMEBOL #LibertadoresSub20" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
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