On 14 August 2018, CONMEBOL decided that starting from the 2019 edition, the final will be played as a single match, and although it was originally stated that the final would be played in Lima, Peru at the Estadio Nacional,[4] on 9 May 2019 the confederation's Council decided to switch the venue to Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción, Paraguay.[5] On 21 June 2019, APF announced that Estadio General Pablo Rojas in Asunción will host the 2019 final due to remodeling works at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco.[6]
Athletico Paranaense were the defending champions, but did not play this edition as they qualified for the 2019 Copa Libertadores group stage as Copa Sudamericana champions and later advanced to the knockout stage.
Teams
The following 44 teams from the 10 CONMEBOL associations qualified for the tournament, entering the first stage:[7]
Location of teams of the 2019 Copa Sudamericana. (L) Teams transferred from the 2019 Copa Libertadores
The draw for the first stage was held on 17 December 2018, 20:30 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.[21][22][23] For the first stage, the teams were divided into two pots according to their geographical zones:[24][25]
Pot A (South Zone): 22 teams from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay
Pot B (North Zone): 22 teams from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
The 44 teams were drawn into 22 ties (E1–E22) between a team from Pot A and a team from Pot B, with the teams from Pot B hosting the second leg in odd-numbered ties, and the teams from Pot A hosting the second leg in even-numbered ties. This distribution ensured that teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same tie.
The draw for the second stage was held on 13 May 2019, 20:30 PYT (UTC−4), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.[26] For the second stage, the teams were allocated to two pots according to their previous results in this season:[27]
Pot 1: 10 teams transferred from the Copa Libertadores and six best winners of the first stage from the Copa Sudamericana
Pot 2: 16 remaining winners of the first stage from the Copa Sudamericana
The 32 teams were drawn into 16 ties (O1–O16) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, with the teams from Pot 1 hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.
In the first stage, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule was used. If still tied, extra time was not played, and a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 27).[1]
In the second stage, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule was used. If still tied, extra time was not played, and a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 27).[1]
In the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg (Regulations Article 22.d). If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule was used. If still tied, extra time was not played, and a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 27).
The final was played as a single match at a venue pre-selected by CONMEBOL, with the higher-seeded team designated as the "home" team for administrative purposes (Regulations Article 25). If tied after regulation, 30 minutes of extra time were played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 28).
Seeding
Starting from the round of 16, the teams were seeded according to the second stage draw, with each team assigned a "seed" 1–16 corresponding to the tie they won (O1–O16) (Regulations Article 22.c).[1]
Bracket
The bracket was decided based on the second stage draw, which was held on 13 May 2019.
