Boca and River Enter Argentina’s Playoffs

ARGENTINA · FOOTBALL

Argentina’s football knockout stage opens with eight one-match ties, and both Boca Juniors and River Plate play at home.

Published Saturday, 14 November 2026, 6:55 a.m. ET · Source: Argentine Football Association (AFA) and Liga Profesional schedule

The Torneo Clausura, the second tournament of Argentina’s football season, moves to a knockout stage that starts on Friday, 20 November, and ends with a final on Saturday, 12 December. Each of the eight ties is one match at the stadium of the club that finished higher in the regular phase, with extra time and then penalties if the score is level.

River Plate host Lanús on Sunday, 22 November, at 5:00 p.m. US Eastern Time (ET), and Boca Juniors host Independiente Rivadavia on Wednesday, 25 November, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Argentina is two hours ahead of US Eastern, so every kick-off time below is converted from Argentine time.

Why Boca Plays Last

Boca play on Wednesday because they meet Atlético Mineiro of Brazil in the Copa Sudamericana final, South America’s second-tier club cup, on Saturday, 21 November, in Barranquilla, Colombia. The league set their tie for four days after that final.

Boca play at La Bombonera, their home stadium in Buenos Aires, as the higher-placed club. Independiente Rivadavia, a club from the Andean city of Mendoza, are the visitors.

The Ties and Kick-Off Times in US Eastern

All eight ties have a day and time in the league’s published schedule, shown here in US Eastern time. ESPN Premium and TNT Sports, the Argentine pay-TV channels that carry them, are named in the same schedule.

• Friday, 20 November, 6:00 p.m. ET: Vélez Sarsfield v Belgrano.
• Saturday, 21 November, 1:00 p.m. ET: Defensa y Justicia v Barracas Central.
• Saturday, 21 November, 3:00 p.m. ET: Argentinos Juniors v Independiente.
• Sunday, 22 November, 2:00 p.m. ET: Rosario Central v Gimnasia of Mendoza.
• Sunday, 22 November, 5:00 p.m. ET: River Plate v Lanús, at River’s Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires.
• Sunday, 22 November, 8:00 p.m. ET: Instituto v Huracán.
• Monday, 23 November, 3:00 p.m. ET: Gimnasia of La Plata v Newell’s Old Boys.
• Wednesday, 25 November, 7:00 p.m. ET: Boca Juniors v Independiente Rivadavia, at La Bombonera.

River Plate and Boca Juniors are Buenos Aires’s two biggest clubs, and Lanús, Vélez, Huracán, Argentinos Juniors and Barracas Central also come from the capital region. Belgrano and Instituto are from Córdoba, Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys from Rosario, and Independiente from Avellaneda, just south of the capital.

What the Winner Gets

The Clausura champion earns a place in the 2027 Copa Libertadores group stage and plays the Trofeo de Campeones on Saturday, 19 December, at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba. The Trofeo de Campeones is a match between the champions of the two tournaments, and the opponent is Belgrano, the Córdoba club that beat River Plate 3-2 in the final of the Apertura, the first tournament of the season, in May 2026 for its first league title.

The Clausura final is on Saturday, 12 December, at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona in La Plata. Quarterfinal and semifinal dates were not confirmed in the schedules we read.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket, a prediction market where users trade on outcomes, priced Boca at 57.0% and Atlético Mineiro at 42.2% to win the Copa Sudamericana final on 21 November. About US$22,746 had been traded on that market in total, read at 6:50 a.m. ET on 14 November.

These prices are bets, not polls, and we found no Polymarket market on the Argentine league ties themselves. Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely.

We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What It Means for You

For fans in the United States, all eight ties fall in the afternoon or evening Eastern, and River v Lanús is a Sunday 5:00 p.m. ET game. We could not confirm which US broadcaster or stream carries the ties.

Visitors to Buenos Aires or Córdoba should expect kick-off times to follow the league’s final schedule. We will update this page when the remaining times are confirmed.

What Is Not Known

The quarterfinal and semifinal dates and any US broadcaster are not confirmed. The league can still change a kick-off time before the games.

Connected Coverage

Read the Argentina news hub and our Boca v Mineiro Sudamericana final guide. See also the Libertadores final guide and the Buenos Aires city guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do Boca Juniors play in the Clausura playoffs?

Boca host Independiente Rivadavia on Wednesday, 25 November 2026, at 7:00 p.m. US Eastern (9:00 p.m. in Argentina). The match is at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires.

What time is River Plate v Lanús in the US?

It kicks off on Sunday, 22 November, at 5:00 p.m. US Eastern, which is 7:00 p.m. in Argentina. River host the match at River’s Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires.

When is the Clausura final?

The final is on Saturday, 12 December 2026, at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona in La Plata. The winner earns a place in the 2027 Copa Libertadores group stage.

Who plays the Trofeo de Campeones?

The Clausura champion plays Belgrano, the Apertura champion, on Saturday, 19 December 2026. The match is at the Kempes stadium in Córdoba.

Sources: Argentine Football Association (AFA) and Liga Profesional schedule for the Clausura 2026 round of 16, read on 14 November 2026; Polymarket, Copa Sudamericana 2026 Winner (read 14 November 2026, 6:50 a.m. ET). Argentina is two hours ahead of US Eastern.