River Plate sweeps Nacional to reach the semifinals of Libertadores

River Plate of Argentina qualified for the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores after defeating host Nacional Uruguay 6-2 on Friday morning in the second leg of the quarterfinals.

The first leg of the match ended with River Plate winning 2-0, thus classifying the team with a total score of 8-2.

George Caraskal, Nicolás de la Cruz and Bruno Zocolini scored River Plate’s first three goals in the 28th, 45th and 50th minutes, and then Raphael Santos Bure added a hat-trick for the team in the 67th, 73rd and 80th minutes.

Meanwhile, Nacional’s goals came in minutes 45 and 54, signed by Girton Cojo and Santiago Rodríguez.

Nacional suffered a numerical shortage in their ranks after Sergio Rochett was sent off in the 18th minute.

River Plate thus reserved a seat in the golden box of the championship with Brazilian teams Santos and Palmeiras, pending the determination of the classified team between Argentina Racing Club and Boca Juniors, after the first victory at home (1-0) on Thursday.

The Boca Juniors team will host Racing Club in the second leg of the quarterfinals on Thursday, December 24 at the La Bomubonera Stadium.

The Libertadores champion will qualify for the Club World Cup, which will be held between February 1 and 11 in Qatar, after it was postponed since last November due to the effects of the outbreak of the new Corona virus (Covid-19).

Al-Ahly, African champion, has been confirmed with European champion Bayern Munich, Oceania champion Auckland City and Al-Duhail Qatar, head of the host country, awaiting representatives from Asia, South and North America.

Al-Ahly will play the victorious North American champions, Asian champions, Qatari Al Duhail or Auckland City in the opening matches of the tournament, provided they face Bayern or the Libertadores champion in the semi-final round, according to the draw.