Torneo Apertura 2026: River Plate-Belgrano, the probable formations

In Argentina, the winner of the 2026 Apertura Tournament will be decided on Sunday, with the final scheduled under the league’s controversial format, which as of 2025 will not only confirm the division of the year into Apertura and Clausura, but also include playoffs to decide the champion team of each of the two portions of the season. River Plate and Belgrano will be the contenders for the title: it will be played at 3:30 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. Italian time, at the Estadio “Mario Alberto Kempes” in Cordoba.

River is seeking its first national title since 2023 (at that time the season was a single one): in the league standings it finished second in Zone B, behind Independiente Rivadavia, starting the playoffs with a very painful victory against San Lorenzo, which was only beaten 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the 90′ and a 2-2 draw at the end of extra time. In the quarters it then beat Gimnasia y Esgrima 2-0, and in the semifinals it settled Rosario Central 1-0 with Facundo Colidio’s decisive goal.

Belgrano, on the other hand, is seeking a historic first national title: the Celeste formation from the city of Cordoba made it to the playoffs thanks to a fifth-place finish in the regular season, beginning an exciting run in the knockout phase that saw it prevail 1-0 over Talleres, 2-0 over Union and on penalties against Argentinos Juniors, reached at 94′ of regulation time at 1-1 thanks to Nicolas Fernandez’s strike and defeated 4-3 (despite two errors in the first two attempts) in the series of shots from the penalty spot.

Probable lineups

RIVER PLATE (4-3-1-2): Beltran; Bustos, Martinez Quarta, Rivero, Marcos Acuña; Lucas Silva, Cruz Meza, Fausto Vera; Galvan; Joaquin Freitas, Colidio. Coach Coudet.

BELGRANO (4-2-3-1): Thiago Cardozo; Leonardo Morales, Lisandro Lopez, Maldonado, Sporle; Adrian Sanchez, Santiago Longo; Emiliano Rigoni, Zelarayan, Gonzalez Metilli; Passerini. All. Zielinski.