\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t River Plate will face Belgrano in the final of the 2026 Torneo Apertura on May 24, a clash with a lot of history, as the club from Crdoba was responsible for relegating the Millonarios down to the Primera B Nacional in 2011, their lowest period in history.<\/p>\n
The final will be played at Crdobas Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. local time, with more than 57,000 fans expected in attendance for the seasons first domestic title decider.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a matchup few would have predicted at the beginning of the season but one that reflects the shifting landscape of Argentine football.<\/p>\n
River booked its place in the final after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Rosario Central at the Monumental on Saturday. Facundo Colidio converted a second-half penalty in a tense encounter that saw the hosts withstand heavy pressure from Central and former Argentina star ngel Di Mara.<\/p>\n
Belgrano joined them a day later after edging Argentinos Juniors on penalties following a 1-1 draw at La Paternal. The Crdoba side showed composure under pressure to reach one of the biggest matches in the clubs recent history.<\/p>\n
Rivers comeback The run to the final marks a dramatic turnaround for River, which looked adrift only months ago following the departure of Marcelo Gallardo. The legendary coach stepped down in February after a disappointing second spell in charge, ending an era defined by inconsistency and mounting criticism.<\/p>\n
His replacement, Eduardo Chacho Coudet, has quickly stabilized the team and guided River to its first final since Gallardos exit.<\/p>\n
The club has rediscovered its defensive solidity and competitive edge during the knockout rounds, restoring optimism among supporters after a turbulent start to 2026.<\/p>\n
However, the club will face an extra challenge in the final, as three of its key players will be absent due to injuries: World Cup-winning full-back Gonzalo Montiel famous for kicking Argentinas winning penalty against France who suffered a muscle tear; forward Sebastin Driussi, and midfielder Anbal Moreno, both ruled out due to knee sprains.<\/p>\n
Belgrano looking to repeat history For Belgrano, meanwhile, the final represents a chance to secure one of the greatest achievements in the clubs history against one of Argentinas traditional giants.<\/p>\n
This is the first time the Piratas have reached the final of a professional competition.<\/p>\n
As a Crdoba club, it will enjoy local status.<\/p>\n
And Belgrano has shown it can beat the Millonarios when it counts, after defeating them in the relegation playoff series in June 2011, a memory that will be very present for both teams during the clash on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
River Plate will face Belgrano in the final of the 2026 Torneo Apertura on May 24, a clash with a lot of history, as the club from Crdoba was responsible for relegating the Millonarios down to the Primera B Nacional in 2011, their lowest period in history. The final will be played at Crdobas Mario […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":64556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8371,11127,66,2258,67],"tags":[8369,16684,1368,16685,1369],"class_list":["post-64555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-2026-torneo-apertura","category-belgrano","category-football","category-river","category-sports","tag-2026-torneo-apertura","tag-belgrano","tag-football","tag-river","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}