The 2016 Copa Sudamericana final stages were scheduled to be played from 20 September to 7 December 2016. A total of 16 teams competed in the final stages to decide the champions of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana.[1]
Qualified teams
The 15 winners of the second stage (eight from winners of the first stage, four from Brazil, three from Argentina) and the defending champions qualified for the final stages.[2][3]
Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg (Regulations Article 3.2).
In the round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 5.1).
In the finals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would not be used, and 30 minutes of extra time would be played. If still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 5.2).
CONMEBOL confirmed that the bracket would remain the same as the draw of the tournament regardless of the nationality of the semifinalists. In previous seasons, if there were two semifinalists from the same association, they had to play each other.[5]
Bracket
The bracket of the final stages was determined by the seeding as follows:[1]
Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellín (left) and Estadio Couto Pereira in Curitiba were scheduled to host the series. Couto Pereira venue was chosen due to Chapecoense's stadium, Arena Condá in Chapecó, did not have a capacity for 40,000 spectators, as required by CONMEBOL.[9]
The final would be played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would not be used, and 30 minutes of extra time would be played. If still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.[1]
The first leg was scheduled to be played on 30 November, and the second leg was scheduled to be played on 7 December 2016.