The 2016 U-20 Copa Libertadores () was the 3rd edition of the U-20 Copa Libertadores, South America's premier under-20 club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. The tournament, which returned after a four-year hiatus having been temporarily discontinued since 2012, was held in the cities of Asunción and Luque, Paraguay, from 30 January to 14 February 2016.
Teams The competition was contested by 12 teams: the title holder, the champion club from each of the ten CONMEBOL member associations, and one additional team from the host association Paraguay.
Players must be born on or after 1 January 1996. However, each team may include a maximum of five players born on or after 1 January 1995.
AssociationTeamQualifying methodParticipationBest result ArgentinaRiver PlateTitle holder (2012 champion)2nd Champion (2012)Lanús2015 Torneo de Cuarta División champion1st n/a BoliviaBolívar2015 U-20 Torneo Nacional champion1st n/a BrazilSão Paulo2015 U-20 Copa do Brasil champion1st n/a ChileHuachipato2015 U-19 National champion1st n/a ColombiaCortuluá2015 U-20 Torneo Postobón champion1st n/a EcuadorIndependiente del Valle2015 U-18 Serie A champion3rd Quarterfinals (2011) ParaguayCerro Porteño2015 U-20 Torneo Apertura champion2nd Quarterfinals (2012)Libertad2015 U-20 Torneo Clausura champion2nd Quarterfinals (2011) PeruMelgar2015 U-18 Copa Federación champion1st n/a UruguayLiverpool2015 U-19 Annual champion1st n/a VenezuelaDeportivo La Guaira2015 U-20 Torneo Venezolano champion2nd Group stage (2012)
Venues The tournament was played in four venues in two cities, all in the Metropolitan Area of Asunción: Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción Estadio Dr. Nicolás Léoz, Asunción (home stadium of Club Libertad) Estadio Manuel Ferreira, Asunción (home stadium of Club Olimpia) Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Luque (home stadium of Sportivo Luqueño)
Group stage The draw of the tournament was held on 15 January 2016, 12:00 local time, at the headquarters of the Paraguayan Football Association in Asunción. For the group stage, the 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four. The two teams from Paraguay (Cerro Porteño and Libertad) and the title holder (River Plate) were seeded.
In the group stage, the teams were ranked according to points (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: Goal difference in all games; Goals scored in all games; Head-to-head result in games between tied teams; Penalty shoot-out (between two teams playing against each other in the last match of the group) Drawing of lots.
The winners of each group and the best runner-up among all groups advanced to the knockout stage.
All times local, PYST (UTC−3).
Group A
Group B
Group C
Ranking of second-placed teams
Knockout stage In the knockout stage, the winners of the semi-finals (Group A winner vs. Group C winner; Group B winner vs. Best runner-up) advanced to the final, while the losers played in the third place match. If tied after regulation time, the penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (no extra time was played).
Bracket
Semi-finals
Third place match
Final
Final standings Team1 São Paulo5410163+13132 Liverpool5212145+97Eliminated in the Semi-finals3 Cortuluá5311105+5104 Lanús520387+16Eliminated in the First Stage5 Cerro Porteño320175+266 Huachipato320154+167 River Plate320154+168 Libertad311154+149 Independiente del Valle3111310-7410 Melgar301227-5111 Deportivo La Guaira300306-6012 Bolívar3003217-150
References
External links Copa Libertadores Sub20 2016, CONMEBOL.com