Vasco Beats Boca Juniors at La Bombonera in Copa Sudamericana Semifinal
Vasco da Gama defeated Boca Juniors 1 a 0 on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires during the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana semifinals, with Adson scoring the decisive goal.
Breaking a 75-Year Drought in Buenos Aires
Adson secured the historic win for the visiting side by meeting a cross from Andrés Gómez and heading the ball into the angle past goalkeeper Montero, as reported by R7 Esportes. The victory marks only the second win in history for Vasco against the Argentine powerhouse, breaking a 75-year winless run since a 3 to 0 friendly match at the Maracanã in 1951, according to CNN Brasil. Across 15 historical encounters, Boca Juniors had previously claimed six wins alongside seven draws. In official matches, this marked the fifth meeting between the two clubs and the first victory for Vasco, following four encounters in 2001 that included two Copa Libertadores victories for Boca and two Copa Mercosul draws. With this result, Vasco became the eighth Brazilian club to defeat Boca Juniors at La Bombonera in official matches. Previously, seven clubs had combined for eight official victories in Buenos Aires, highlighted by Internacional—who defeated Boca in Buenos Aires during the 2008 Sudamericana and the 2020 Libertadores. The pioneer was Santos, which claimed the 1963 Libertadores with a victory at La Bombonera, while Fluminense had been the sole Rio de Janeiro club to achieve the feat previously, doing so in the 2012 edition.
The result also snaps an active 17-game unbeaten run for Boca Juniors. Before this semifinal fixture, the Argentine club’s last defeat took place on July 30, 2026, when they dropped a 1 to 0 result to O’Higgins in the Copa Sudamericana, O GLOBO reported. Following that loss, Boca recorded nine wins and eight draws.
Playing a Man Down at La Bombonera
Vasco achieved the victory despite playing the majority of the second half with a numerical disadvantage. Andrés Gómez received a red card at the 18-minute mark of the second half, forcing the Brazilian side to absorb heavy pressure and rely on defensive resilience to preserve the clean sheet. UOL noted that the team had to withstand two shots hitting the woodwork as the hosts pressed for an equalizer.
Head coach Pedro Emanuel addressed the performance afterward, stating that the squad wanted to write its own present history while respecting the past.
The Legal Battle Over the Second Leg Venue
The return leg is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 21:30 Brasília time, though the exact venue remains the subject of a legal dispute. Because São Januário holds fewer than 30,000 spectators—the minimum capacity required by CONMEBOL for semifinal matches—Vasco sought to host the fixture at the Maracanã. The venue issue turned into a judicial battle featuring multiple twists: on Friday, October 9, the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice granted a Vasco appeal ordering the Flamengo-Fluminense consortium administering the stadium to make it available, but the consortium successfully suspended that decision a day later, leaving the match without a confirmed location until the court accepted a new petition from Vasco to ensure the game takes place at the Maracanã.
The winner of the tie advances to the Copa Sudamericana grand final to face either Atlético-MG or Uruguay’s Montevideo City Torque, who begin their semifinal series on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at Arena MRV.
Before the decisive second leg, Vasco travels to face São Paulo on Saturday, October 17, 2026, in the Campeonato Brasileiro. Boca Juniors returns to action a day earlier on Friday, October 16, against Talleres in the Argentine Clausura.
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