Cruzeiro hold their Libertadores fate in their own hands, here's why

Cruzeiro depends only on itself to secure a place in the Copa Libertadores round of 16.

In the next and final round of the group stage, the club will host Ecuadorian side Barcelona at Mineirão. A simple win will send the team from Minas Gerais through.

Cruzeiro’s recent draw with Boca Juniors at La Bombonera raised the team’s tally to eight points, securing second place in the group.

First place belongs to Universidad Católica of Chile, which reached ten points after beating Barcelona 2-0 in Santiago this Thursday (21).

Boca Juniors sit in third place with seven points. Barcelona are bottom of the group with four points and have already been eliminated from the tournament.

Cruzeiro’s qualification scenarios

Although a win over Barcelona would mathematically guarantee Cruzeiro’s qualification without depending on any other result, the club could also advance with a draw, as long as Boca Juniors do not beat Universidad Católica in the final round.

To secure first place in the group, Cruzeiro face a tougher challenge: they must win their match at Mineirão and, at the same time, hope that Universidad Católica lose to Boca Juniors.

The Chilean team hold the edge on the first tiebreaker criterion (head-to-head), having won the match in Belo Horizonte and drawn at home.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

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