The 2020 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages were played from 21 January to 27 February 2020.[1] A total of 19 teams competed in the qualifying stages to decide four of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2020 Copa Libertadores.[2]
The draw for the qualifying stages was held on 17 December 2019, 20:30 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.[3][4][5]
Teams were seeded by their CONMEBOL ranking of the Copa Libertadores as of 15 December 2019 (shown in parentheses),[6] taking into account the following three factors:[7]
Performance in the last 10 years, taking into account Copa Libertadores results in the period 2010–2019
Historical coefficient, taking into account Copa Libertadores results in the period 1960–2009
Local tournament champion, with bonus points awarded to domestic league champions of the last 10 years
For the first stage, the six teams were drawn into three ties (E1–E3), with the teams from Pot 1 hosting the second leg.
BOL The identity of the team Bolivia 4 was not known at the time of the draw, and was seeded in Pot 2.
For the second stage, the 16 teams were drawn into eight ties (C1–C8), with the teams from Pot 1 hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same tie, excluding the three winners of the first stage, which were allocated to Pot 2 and whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, and could be drawn into the same tie with another team from the same association.
CHI The identity of the team Chile 4 was not known at the time of the draw, and was seeded in Pot 2.
For the third stage, the eight winners of the second stage were allocated without any draw into the following four ties (G1–G4), with the team in each tie with the higher CONMEBOL ranking hosting the second leg. As their identity was not known at the time of the draw, they could be drawn into the same tie with another team from the same association.
In the qualifying stages, 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 2.4.3).[2]
First stage (6 teams): The three winners of the first stage advanced to the second stage to join the 13 teams which were given byes to the second stage.
Second stage (16 teams): The eight winners of the second stage advanced to the third stage.
Third stage (8 teams): The four winners of the third stage advanced to the group stage to join the 28 direct entrants. The two best teams eliminated in the third stage entered the Copa Sudamericana second stage.
The bracket was decided based on the first stage draw and second stage draw, which was held on 17 December 2019.
The two best teams eliminated in the third stage entered the Copa Sudamericana second stage. Only matches in the third stage were considered for the ranking of teams.
^The Universidad de Chile v Internacional match was originally scheduled for 4 February 2020, 19:15 local time, but was re-scheduled to 18:00 local time.[14]