Peñarol - Santa Fe: Aguirre recovers Gularte and Remedi for 21:30 test
Peñarol - Santa Fe arrives with Peñarol needing a win on May 27, 2026 at 21:30 at the Campeón del Siglo to stay in international competition. The Uruguayan side is last in Group E with three points and trails Santa Fe by two points, so anything less than a victory ends its year without another continental match.
Diego Aguirre gets Emanuel Gularte and Eric Remedi back in the starting eleven. Javier Cabrera returns to the bench, while Maximiliano Olivera was left out of the list of convocados at the last moment. Peñarol’s expected lineup is Washington Aguerre, Brian Barboza, Gularte, Lucas Ferreira, Franco Escobar, Jesús Trindade, Remedi, Leandro Umpiérrez, Diego Laxalt, Luis Miguel Angulo and Matías Arezo.
Group E at Campeón del Siglo
The match is the last date of Group E, which puts every decision under a short timeline and leaves no room for a cautious start. A draw or defeat sends Peñarol out of international competition for the rest of the year, while a win carries it into the Copa Sudamericana round of 16.
The setup is tighter for Santa Fe as well. Pablo Repetto’s team can reach the Copa Libertadores round of 16 if it wins and Platense does not win in Brazil; with a draw, Santa Fe goes to the Copa Sudamericana. That leaves both sides with a clear target and no margin for a slow game.
Aguirre’s selection call
Aguirre’s return pieces matter because Peñarol needs its strongest available spine at the back and in midfield. Gularte and Remedi are back in the starting group, giving the home side more stability for a match that will be decided by the result, not by how long it can hold the ball.
The one late change is Olivera’s omission, which narrows the rotation but also makes the starting picture more defined. Aguerre is set behind a line built around Barboza, Gularte, Ferreira and Escobar, with Trindade, Remedi, Umpiérrez and Laxalt in front of them and Angulo plus Arezo leading the attack.
Repetto, Ortega and the stakes
Santa Fe arrives with Andrés Mosquera in goal and Hugo Rodallega among its expected starters, and Repetto’s group knows a draw still gives it a way into the Copa Sudamericana. The expected eleven also includes Mateo Puerta, Víctor Moreno, Emmanuel Olivera, Jeison Angulo, Daniel Torres, Kilian Toscano, Nahuel Bustos, Yeicar Perlaza and Omar Fernández.
Kevin Ortega will referee the match, with Michael Orué and Jesús Sánchez as assistants, Daniel Ureta as fourth official, and Carlos Orbe plus Byron Romero in the VAR. will carry the game, and by the time the teams walk out at 21:30, Peñarol will already know the simplest math: win and keep playing, or fall out of the continent for the year.
