Brazil's men's U-15 national team will play the 2026 CONMEBOL Liga Evolución in Paraguay from September 8 to 20. Brazil enters as defending champion and is in the North Zone with Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. The CBF named a 20-player squad and, in its latest men's update, confirmed the opener for September 8 at 8:40 a.m. against Colombia at Parque Guasu in Luque.
What is the 2026 U-15 Liga Evolución?
The U-15 Liga Evolución is a CONMEBOL development competition bringing together all ten South American member associations in both the men's and women's categories. The 2026 tournament is the second edition and will be staged in Paraguay over 13 days. According to CONMEBOL, there are 25 men's matches and 25 women's matches; the men's games are played at Parque Guasu Metropolitano in the Asunción area, while the women's tournament is held at CARFEM in Ypané.
The event is not designed only to crown a champion. It also includes educational activities focused on coexistence, respect, identity and learning. CONMEBOL says each match consists of two competitive 40-minute halves followed by a 20-minute educational “third half” after the game.
General information and tournament updates are available on CONMEBOL's official 2026 U-15 Liga Evolución page and in the confederation's official news section.
How the format works
The ten national teams are split into two five-team zones:
- North Zone: Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.
- South Zone: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
In the preliminary stage, each team plays the other four teams in its zone once. CONMEBOL awards three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss.
In the final stage, teams from the two zones are paired according to their preliminary-stage position. The CBF explains the setup directly: first place in one zone plays first place in the other, second plays second, and so on. That guarantees five matches for every national team in the tournament. The match between the two zone winners decides the title.
If teams are level on points in the preliminary stage, CONMEBOL's 2026 communication lists the tiebreakers in this order: head-to-head results, discipline, goal difference, Evolución Recognition and, finally, a draw. If the title-deciding final-stage match is tied, it is decided by a penalty shootout.
The format is also described in a CBF publication on the 2026 tournament, which sets out the same group structure, position-based final-stage pairing and five-match guarantee.
Brazil's path through the North Zone
Brazil must navigate four preliminary-stage matches against the other North Zone teams. The first men's fixture confirmed by the CBF is:
| Date | Match | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 8, 2026 | Brazil vs Colombia | 8:40 a.m. | Parque Guasu, Luque, Paraguay |
After the opener, Brazil will still face Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru in the preliminary stage. The CBF men's squad announcement that confirmed the opener does not publish the full sequence of dates for those three matches in its text. To avoid mixing the men's schedule with the women's calendar or filling gaps from third-party sources, the correct reference for kickoff times and any changes is CONMEBOL's official calendar.
The table has a straightforward consequence: finishing first in the North Zone puts Brazil into the championship match against the South Zone winner. If Brazil finishes in another position, it faces the team in the same South Zone position to determine its final tournament placing.
Brazil is defending the 2025 title
Brazil is the reigning men's Liga Evolución champion. The CBF records that Brazil defeated Argentina in the 2025 decider. That makes the 2026 campaign a bid for back-to-back titles, but the format makes every preliminary-stage match important because the group position directly determines the opponent in the fifth and final game.
The immediate tournament preparation ended with two friendlies against Uruguay at Granja Comary. Brazil won 4-0 and 7-0, results used by the coaching staff as part of the fifth preparation phase before the final squad was announced.
Brazil's 20-player squad
Head coach Guilherme Dalla Déa selected 20 players from 11 clubs:
Goalkeepers
- Arthur Lourenço — Internacional
- Arthur Santin — Flamengo
Defenders
- Enzo Costa — Palmeiras
- Pietro Gomes — Atlético-MG
- Valmir Ribeiro — Flamengo
- Guilherme Borges — Internacional
- Sandro Silva — Vitória
- Gustavo Galan — Palmeiras
Midfielders
- Diego Bento — Vasco
- Lucas Jorge — São Paulo
- Lucas Splichal — Corinthians
- Gabriel Leite — Palmeiras
- Brener Paulino — Internacional
- Gabriel Castor — Grêmio
Forwards
- Gabriel Bueno — Palmeiras
- Samuell Oliveira — Fluminense
- Kelwin Araújo — Internacional
- Kauã Souza — Flamengo
- Asafe Fernandes — Internacional
- Isaac Alves — Santos
The full list and opening-match confirmation are in the official CBF squad announcement published on August 25, 2026.
How to follow the tournament without mixing up the men's and women's schedules
The men's and women's Liga Evolución competitions run at the same time, but their calendars are different. Brazil's women's U-15 team, for example, plays in Ypané and has its own sequence of match dates. To follow the men's team, check that an update explicitly refers to the men's Brazil U-15 team and that the venue is Parque Guasu.
CONMEBOL says U-15 Liga Evolución matches will be streamed on its official YouTube channel and that admission to the competition venues is free. Because kickoff times and programming can be updated, the official schedule should be checked again on matchday.
What matters in each stage
- Preliminary stage: four North Zone round-robin matches for points.
- Standings: the group position determines the final-stage matchup.
- Final stage: each team faces the team in the same position from the South Zone.
- Title: the two zone winners meet for the championship; a draw is settled on penalties.
- Schedule updates: use CBF and CONMEBOL for changes to dates, kickoff times, venues and broadcasts.
In practical terms, Brazil enters the 2026 U-15 Liga Evolución as defending champion, opens on September 8 against Colombia and needs to turn its four North Zone matches into the best possible group position. That position directly determines the team's fifth and final match in Paraguay.
