Florencia Ceballos scores a hat-trick and Belgrano win 4-2, but Palmeiras' draw knocks them out of the Libertadores

Belgrano closed out their first Copa Libertadores Femenina with a bittersweet night in Quito. Las Piratas beat Peru's Universitario 4-2 at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium, with three goals from Florencia Ceballos, and recorded the first international victory in the club's history. But at the same time Independiente del Valle drew 1-1 with Palmeiras, and that result left the Córdoba side third in Group B, with no place in the quarter-finals.

An end-to-end game

The final round of the group stage, on Wednesday 21 October, started badly. Chilean Karen Araya put Universitario ahead in the opening minutes with a shot from the centre of the box. Belgrano responded before the break: Ceballos equalised in the 31st minute and, shortly afterwards, scored again to turn the game around and send her team in 2-1 up at half-time.

The second half had the same pace. On the very first play after the restart, Araya levelled with a strike from outside the area to complete her brace. The reply came quickly: Alaides Paz fired in an angled shot to make it 3-2 in the 49th minute. In stoppage time, after a VAR review, Ceballos converted a penalty to complete her hat-trick and seal the 4-2 win.

With that goal, Ceballos and Paz ended the tournament as Belgrano's top scorers, with three goals each. Paz had scored in the 1-1 opening draw against Independiente del Valle and in the 1-3 defeat to Palmeiras.

The maths that didn't add up

Mariana "Pomu" Sánchez's side went into the last round with one point and a single route through: win, and hope that Palmeiras, already qualified, would beat Independiente del Valle. The first part happened; the second didn't. Palmeiras and Independiente del Valle drew 1-1 in the group's other match, and that result sealed the Córdoba side's elimination.

The final Group B table:

• Palmeiras: 7 points.
• Independiente del Valle: 5 points.
• Belgrano: 4 points (6 goals for, 6 against).
• Universitario: 0 points, three defeats in three games.

Still a historic campaign

Belgrano were Argentina's only representatives in this edition and reached the Copa after winning the 2025 Clausura, the club's first-ever top-flight title, and the Trofeo de Campeonas against Newell's, decided on penalties after a 0-0 draw. In Ecuador they recorded a draw, a defeat and a win, and leave with the feeling of having competed on equal terms with two of the strongest teams on the continent.

In Group A, meanwhile, Corinthians thrashed Santa Fe 5-1 to finish top with a perfect record, with the Colombians in second; Colo-Colo beat Caracas 3-0 but were eliminated. Corinthians, Santa Fe, Palmeiras and Independiente del Valle have therefore booked their places in the quarter-finals, while Groups C and D are still to be decided.

Sources: EFE (via Infobae), El Femenino, Canal Showsport, Hoy Día Córdoba, Contragolpe, Fútbol Peruano.