It proved a successful week in the 2025 Copa Libertadores for Argentine teams, with all four sides claiming victory in their respective round of 16 matchups. River Plate, Vélez Sarsfield, Estudiantes de La Plata, and Racing Club are now set up to compete in the quarters, set to kick off in the third week of September.

River was the latest to join, beating Paraguay’s Libertad 3-1 on penalties on Thursday to secure its ticket to the quarter finals. After a 0-0 tie in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción, the series arrived at the Monumental to determine the winner. It was a poor game from River, with goalkeeper Franco Armani becoming the hero of the night. 

The Millonario took the lead in the 29th minute, as striker Sebastián Driussi dived to head the ball in after a shot by teammate Facundo Colidio hit the crossbar. It was all tied just 13 minutes later, as former River defender Robert “Sicario” Rojas headed in the 1-1 from a corner.

The second half was even more difficult for El Millonario. Midfielder Giuliano Galoppo saw a red card in the 51st minute, leaving River with ten men for the remainder of the game. Libertad took control of the game and cornered the Argentine team.

As the series moved into the penalty shootout, Armani was once again the hero, saving a shot from forward Hugo Fernández to secure the win.

“I’m happy to go through in a night that wasn’t coming up very well,” River head coach Marcelo Gallardo said at the press conference. “I’m enjoying it. Things were looking bad, but the coin fell on our side.”

Gallardo insisted the game changed after the sending off, but that his team “tried to keep playing the same” and “the desire to win made [them] lose focus.” 

River will now face Brazilian giant Palmeiras, who have made the semifinals in four of the last five tournaments. 

Vélez and Racing set up Argentine showdown

The first Argentine team to secure their spot in the quarter finals of South America’s premiere international competition was Vélez Sarsfield. The 1994 winners had matched up against Brazil’s Fortaleza and narrowly survived a tough clash away from home, bringing the series 0-0 to Argentina.

Under heavy rain on Tuesday, the team coached by Guillermo Barros Schelotto took a solid 2-0 win, with goals by youngster forward Maher Carrizzo and midfielder Tomás Galván.

They’ll face Racing now, who had to come back from behind to eliminate Uruguay’s Peñarol. After losing 1-0 at Montevideo, the team coached by Gustavo Costas took care of business at home. 

La Academia took an early lead through a scrappy goal by striker Adrián Martínez just six minutes in. Peñarol, however, tied things up in the 14th minute with a headed Nahuel Herrera goal from a corner.

Then came two controversial plays that defined the game. First, Racing had a goal disallowed in the 32nd minute, as new signing Marcos Rojo was deemed to have pushed a defender before heading the ball in. In the 79th minute the referee was in the spotlight again, this time over a push by Peñarol defender Emanuel Gularte over Martínez. The umpire gave a penalty, and the Racing striker scored to tie the series 2-2.

Racing went on to take the win in incredible fashion, with defender Franco Pardo scoring the winner in the 94th minute of added time.

The series between the two, which guarantees at least one Argentine team in the semis, will also kick off in September.

Estudiantes also in the hunt

The last Argentine team in the chase for Copa Libertadores glory is Estudiantes. The Pincharratas took care of business with a 0-0 tie at home on Wednesday, after beating Paraguay’s Cerro Porteño away in Asunción by 1-0.

They’ll meet up with three-time winner Flamengo, who beat fellow Brazilian team Internacional SC 3-0 on aggregate. In the only matchup without an Argentine team, Brazil’s Sao Paulo will go up against Ecuador’s Liga de Quito.