Botafogo failed to cope with the Bolivian altitude and lost by a single goal to Nacional de Potosí in the first leg of the second preliminary round of the 2026 Copa Libertadores, played at the Víctor Agustín Ugarte stadium. The only goal of the match was scored by defender Oscar Baldomar in the second minute of the second half. Despite the defeat, which was by a narrow margin, Botafogo will decide the series at home next Wednesday, February 25th, at 21:30 (Argentine time), at the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium. The first chance of the game came from the home team at 12 minutes, with a corner kick that was extended by Baldomar, whose shot deflected off an opposing defender and hit the right post of goalkeeper Leo Linck. The visiting team had a chance at 34 minutes, with a run down the right by Argentine winger Álvaro Montoro, whose back pass was powerfully shot by striker Jordan Barrera, though his clean shot went wide to the right of goalkeeper Pedro Galindo. In the 44th minute, a long pass left striker Matheus Martins one-on-one with Galindo, but he lacked precision in his shot, which went to the left post of the goalkeeper. In the first minute of the second half, after a short corner, Nacional repeated the formula of their first dangerous chance: a cross to the near post sought out Baldomar, who this time deflected the trajectory just right to send it into the far corner, making it 1-0. Montoro missed the chance to equalize at nine minutes into the second half, with a back pass that left him alone at the far post, though his first-time shot hit the post and went wide. The last play of the game was by the visitors at 34 minutes, with a direct free kick from full-back Alex Telles, a former Manchester United player, who aimed for the far post with a medium-height shot that Galindo managed to deflect. In another match, O’Higgins of Chile was vastly superior and defeated Bahia of Brazil 1-0 in the match they played at the El Teniente stadium, for the second round of the continental tournament. The only goal in a match where the Chilean team was superior throughout was scored by Argentine striker Francisco González at three minutes. The series will be decided next Wednesday, 25th, starting at 19:00 (Argentine time), at the Brazilian Arena Fonte Nova stadium. The first arrival of the match was by the home team at two minutes, with a long pass that was extended by striker Arnaldo Castillo to set up “Panchito” González, who took a good low and crossed shot that was deflected by goalkeeper Ronaldo Strada. On the next play, midfielder Juan Leiva tried a long-range shot that went just over the crossbar. The only goal of the match came just a minute later, with a run down the right by González, who hooked and took a great left-footed shot, which took the right effect to hit the right post of Strada and reach the net. There were no more chances until the 25th minute, when a cross from the right by midfielder Martín Sarrafiore allowed the header of attacking midfielder Bryan Rabello, who appeared at the far post but shot wide. The Brazilian team had no chances until the second half, with a shot from the left side of the net by midfielder Nicolás Acevedo that hit the outside of the net. In the third minute of stoppage time, a low cross from the left of the Brazilian team set up the shot of midfielder Caio Alexandre, who managed to poke the ball and saw it go near the left post of goalkeeper Omar Carabali, who had almost no action in the 90 minutes.
