Liga de Quito will host Always Ready on Tuesday at 17:00 at Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium in the final round of Group G of the Copa Libertadores 2026, with the Ecuadorian side already through to the round of 16 and still playing for position. Liga de Quito is second in the group with 9 points and a plus-2 goal difference, while Always Ready arrives last with 3 points and only a slim path left to keep its continental season alive.
The match comes after Liga de Quito drew 1-1 with Deportivo Cuenca in Liga Ecuabet, a result that left it third in the domestic tournament with 24 points, ten behind leader Independiente del Valle. Even so, the Libertadores picture is already clear for the hosts: Mirassol leads Group G with 12 points, Liga de Quito sits second, Lanús has 6, and Always Ready has been left to chase a far narrower objective.
For Always Ready, the road is straightforward but demanding. The Bolivian side has one win and four losses in its Libertadores campaign, and its only victory was the 4-0 result over Lanús that briefly changed the look of the group. To reach the Copa Sudamericana repechage, it must win in Quito and also need Lanús to lose to Mirassol. Without both results, the mathematics do not work.
That leaves Tuesday's game carrying different weight for each side. Liga de Quito can use the night to manage the group stage finish from a position of control, while Always Ready has to treat it as a must-win away match at altitude, with no margin for a slow start or a missed chance. Colombian referee Carlos Ortega will officiate the contest, adding another fixed point to a match where the standings have already shaped the stakes before kickoff.
The tension is in the split between certainty and desperation. Liga de Quito is already qualified, but the group is not frozen: Mirassol's lead, Lanús's place in the middle, and Always Ready's three points still leave something open for the visitor, even if only in combination with another result elsewhere. For that reason, Tuesday at Rodrigo Paz Delgado is less about who advances and more about whether Always Ready can keep its continental run from ending with one final defeat in Quito.
