The tie is alive, but Boca Juniors have the one thing every away trip craves: a lead. Miguel Merentiel’s first-leg strike at La Bombonera has put the Xeneize 1-0 up over O'Higgins, and that means the second leg in Chile is less a formality than a test of nerve, discipline and whether the hosts can turn pressure into something far more dangerous.
That is the uncomfortable truth for O'Higgins. They head home needing to overturn a one-goal deficit just to keep their route to the Round of 16 moving. In a contest this tight, one moment can change everything, and Merentiel has already provided the one Boca wanted most. The scoreline is narrow, but the advantage is real.
And yet this is not a simple case of one side having all the momentum. Boca arrive with a more balanced approach under Rodolfo Arruabarrena, which matters when margins are this thin. They have also had a mixed recent run: a 2-0 win over Sarmiento in the Copa Argentina after the 2026 FIFA World Cup break, followed by a bruising 3-0 league defeat to Deportivo Riestra over the weekend. That is not the profile of a team cruising, but it is the profile of a team that still knows how to win important ties.
O'Higgins, by contrast, have kept playing through the World Cup break, including action in the Copa de Chile and Copa de la Liga. That competitive rhythm could be a real advantage if the game at Estadio El Teniente turns frantic. They also reached the final of the Copa de la Liga against Coquimbo Unido, although that match was postponed until October because of severe weather conditions. In other words, they have not been idle, and they have not been short of competitive edge.
What Boca Juniors have, and what O'Higgins must find
That is what makes this second leg so compelling. Boca have the lead, the experience of managing a first-leg advantage, and the knowledge that one goal in Chile would make O'Higgins’ task far more complicated. O'Higgins have the home setting, the rhythm, and the need to chase the game without losing their heads. That is a dangerous balancing act.
So the equation is simple enough. Boca Juniors travel to Chile protecting a 1-0 advantage, Merentiel has already done the damage, and O'Higgins now need a performance with end product, not just effort. This is where ties are won or lost: not in the headlines before kick-off, but in the cold business of handling pressure when the margin for error is gone.
