Boca Juniors opened its Copa Sudamericana playoff series against O'Higgins on Thursday, and Sebastián Villa was named in the starting lineup. The match marked the first step in a knockout tie that had television and streaming coverage set well before kickoff.
For readers checking the schedule, the match was set for 21:30 in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay; 20:30 in Chile, Bolivia, Venezuela and Miami, United States; 19:30 in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Panama; 18:30 in Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica; and 02:30 on 24 July in Spain. carried the game and Disney+ streamed it.
The Boca Juniors lineup listed Álvaro Montero, Dylan Gorosito, Jorge Figal, Ayrton Costa, Lautaro Blanco, Leandro Paredes, Milton Delgado, Leonel Flores, Tomás Aranda, Villa and Miguel Merentiel, with Rodolfo Arruabarrena in charge. O'Higgins answered with Omar Carabalí, Felipe Faúndez, Luis Pavez, Martín Sarrafiore, Felipe Ogaz, Arnaldo Castillo, Bryan Rabello, Juan Leiva, Alan Robledo, Francisco González and Miguel Brizuela under Lucas Bovaglio.
Villa’s place in the XI drew the most attention because he was handed a start after being available to the squad on the same run of days that included the World Cup final on Sunday. That made his selection more than a routine team-sheet note: it was a sign that Boca Juniors was willing to lean on him immediately in a match that could shape the rest of the playoff series.
The larger continental backdrop is simple enough. Boca Juniors and O'Higgins were beginning a two-team knockout fight, and the opening leg was the one everyone had to watch first. The only major question left from the pre-match picture was whether Villa’s presence from the start would carry into a decisive role once the game began.
