Defensores del Chaco Stadium hosted another cup night for Olimpia. On Wednesday, the Paraguayan team beat Vasco da Gama 3-1 in the fifth round of Group G of the 2026 Copa Sudamericana, taking an important step toward direct qualification to the round of 16.
The first half was dominated by Olimpia, but anxiety hampered finishing. In the 48th minute, Carlos Cuesta took advantage of a corner kick taken by Moreira and headed alone to open the scoring for Vasco.
In the second half, the home side kept up the pressure. In the 66th minute, Hugo Quintana took a corner from the right and Mateo Gamarra got ahead of the marker to equalize with a header. The equalizer lifted the crowd, and the advantage increased when Joao Víctor was sent off for a hard off-the-ball tackle on Franco Alfonso.
In the 85th minute, Rubén Lezcano took a free kick from the right and Hugo Sandoval deflected it with his left foot to turn the game around. In stoppage time, Lezcano again set up Sandoval, who controlled and rolled the ball for Sebastián Ferreira to finish with his right, sealing the score.
With the result, Olimpia reached 10 points, three ahead of Vasco and Audax Italiano, both with 7. In the final round, the Decano faces Audax at home and needs only a draw to secure a direct spot in the round of 16, avoiding the playoff.