Atlético Nacional and Independiente Santa Fe will finally play the match that was left hanging from the fifth date of Liga BetPlay 2026-II, with the pending game set for Thursday at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium. It kicks off at 8:30 p. m. and will be carried by Win Sports +.
The timing matters because the table is still tight at the top. Nacional is second with 32 points in 15 matches and has already secured a place in the cuadrangulares, while Santa Fe is fourth with 28 points and still needs a win to lock in its spot among the top eight. Both clubs are also chasing the point invisible, the edge that goes to the team with the best overall record heading into the quadrangular stage and can matter later if the numbers finish level.
For Nacional, the match comes with a thinner attacking picture than usual. Edwin Cardona will miss out after accumulating yellow cards, and Marlos Moreno, Cristian Arango, Alfredo Morelos and Ian Poveda are also unavailable through injury. That leaves the home side with a competitive advantage on paper but fewer options to reshape the game if it gets stuck, especially against a Santa Fe side that arrives after beating Atlético Bucaramanga 2-1 in its most recent outing.
Nacional, for its part, comes in after a 2-1 win over Independiente Medellín and has recent history on its side in the matchup. In the last five meetings, it has won twice, Santa Fe once and there have been two draws. The most recent clash between them ended with a 2-1 Nacional victory in Bogotá on February 25, but Santa Fe’s last league win in the series was a 2-1 result in Medellín on June 8, 2025, and their most recent meeting at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium finished 1-1 on August 25, 2025.
The match was postponed after the natural emergency that followed the earthquake of August 10, and that delay is part of why this fixture still carries so much weight now. The rescheduled date gives both sides a chance to catch up in the standings before the late-stage race tightens further. Santa Fe will start with Weimar Asprilla in goal, while Franco Armani is set to begin for Nacional, and the result will help clarify whether the home side can keep pressing for the point invisible while managing its absences or whether Santa Fe can turn the game into a direct step toward qualification.
