River Plate and Belgrano de Córdoba met at the Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba on Sunday at 15:30 for the Torneo Apertura 2026 final.
Belgrano playmaker Lucas Zelarayán, who said "Soñé toda mi vida jugar una final con Belgrano," walked out in front of a crowd organizers expected to number nearly 60,000 split evenly between the two clubs.
The match carried more than a domestic trophy. The winner would earn direct entry to the Copa Libertadores 2027 and also secure a place in the Trofeo de Campeones 2026, turning Sunday’s final into a shortcut to continental football and another title shot next season.
River reached the decider after a semifinal run that included victories over San Lorenzo and Gimnasia before a 1-0 win against Rosario Central at the Monumental, the only goal coming from Facundo Colidio. Belgrano punched its ticket with a dramatic run that saw the club eliminate Talleres in the round of 16 and Unión in the quarterfinals, then dispose of Argentinos Juniors on penalties after a 1-1 draw in La Paternal the Sunday before the final.
The Liga Profesional named Yael Falcón Pérez as the match referee, with Facundo Rodríguez and Maximiliano del Yesso as assistant referees and Leandro Rey Hilfer assigned to the VAR. The final was televised domestically by Premium and TNT Sports.
River’s reported starting eleven read Santiago Beltrán in goal; Fabricio Bustos, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Lautaro Rivero and Marcos Acuña across the back; Aníbal Moreno, Tomás Galván, Fausto Vera and Juan Cruz Meza in midfield; and Facundo Colidio alongside Joaquín Freitas up front. Notably, River included Aníbal Moreno in the starting eleven despite a knee injury.
Belgrano’s confirmed lineup featured Thiago Cardozo in goal; Agustín Falcón, Leonardo Morales, Alexis Maldonado and Adrian Sporle in defence; Santiago Longo and Adrián Sánchez in midfield; and Juan Velázquez, Lucas Zelarayán, Emiliano Rigoni and Lucas Passerini leading the attack.
The crowd split and the neutral venue in Córdoba amplified the stakes. Belgrano arrived on momentum from knockout wins and the emotional lift of a penalty shootout over Argentinos Juniors. River, meanwhile, reached the final with a string of narrow victories — the 1-0 semifinal against Rosario Central decided by Colidio’s goal — and the selection of Moreno suggested a tactical risk from coach and medical staff.
The tension centered on that risk. Moreno’s knee issue was public before kickoff, yet River chose to start him, betting his presence would strengthen midfield control and protect the fullbacks. If the knee limited Moreno, River’s compact plans and reliance on Galván and Vera to cover ground would face a stiffer test against Belgrano’s creative unit led by Zelarayán and Rigoni.
For Belgrano, the question was whether the momentum of successive knockout wins and the experience of players like Zelarayán in a rare final could overcome River’s depth and the individual quality of Colidio, who carried his scoring form from the Monumental into Córdoba. Television audiences across the country watched on Premium and TNT Sports as both teams chased not only a title but a direct route into continental competition.
The single most consequential unanswered question from Córdoba is simple and precise: can Aníbal Moreno manage the match on a compromised knee, and will his availability determine which club takes the Copa Libertadores 2027 berth? The answer to that will shape which team leaves Kempes with silverware and which must chase continental football by other routes.
