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Fluminense hosts Palmeiras in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores 2026 semifinals on Wednesday, October 14, with kickoff at 8:30 PM ET. In the United States, the match airs on beIN Sports and beIN Sports en Español and streams on beIN Sports Connect. Fluminense reached the last four by eliminating Platense in the quarterfinals, while Palmeiras survived a penalty shootout against LDU Quito.
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| Match | Fluminense vs Palmeiras |
| Date | Wednesday, October 14, 2026 |
| Kickoff | 8:30 PM ET |
| Competition | Copa Libertadores 2026, Semifinal, First Leg |
| U.S. TV | beIN Sports, beIN Sports en Español |
| U.S. Stream | beIN Sports Connect, Fubo, Fanatiz, YouTube TV (Sports Plus add-on) |
| Venue | Maracana (Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho), Rio de Janeiro |
Is Fluminense vs Palmeiras on TV in the US?
Yes. The match is live on beIN Sports in English and beIN Sports en Español in Spanish at 8:30 PM ET, and both channels carry the full broadcast from the Maracana, because beIN Sports holds the U.S. rights to the Copa Libertadores.
There is no second network involved and no Univision, Telemundo or FOX simulcast for this semifinal. If you are watching in the United States, you are watching on beIN, on television or through one of the streaming services that carries its channels.
Is Fluminense vs Palmeiras Free to Watch?
No confirmed free option exists for this match. beIN Sports is a pay channel, and beIN Sports Connect requires a subscription or a participating TV provider login, so every confirmed viewing path requires a paid TV package or subscription of some kind. Unlike some U.S. soccer broadcasts, this one cannot be watched free with a digital antenna, because it does not air on an over-the-air network.
Where to Find beIN Sports
beIN Sports is not as widely carried as the big U.S. sports networks, and that is the main hurdle for this match. Two of the biggest providers do not carry it at all: there is no beIN Sports on DirecTV and no beIN Sports on Xfinity. If either of those is your provider, the channels are not in your package at any price.
Traditional carriage does exist, just in patches. Dish, Spectrum, Verizon Fios and Optimum all carry beIN Sports, along with a group of smaller cable systems. Most U.S. viewers, though, reach beIN through streaming: Fubo and Fanatiz carry both beIN channels, YouTube TV has them in its Sports Plus add-on, and beIN Sports Connect carries them directly for $5.99 a month.
Is Fluminense vs Palmeiras on Fubo?
Yes. Fubo carries beIN Sports and beIN Sports en Español, and this semifinal airs on both channels, so Fubo subscribers can watch it live in English or Spanish.
Every Confirmed Streaming Option
beIN Sports Connect. beIN’s own streaming service carries both beIN channels live, including this match. It is the cheapest confirmed option at $5.99 a month, and viewers with a participating TV provider can also sign in with those credentials.
Fubo. Fubo carries beIN Sports and beIN Sports en Español, so the match streams live on Fubo for subscribers.
Fanatiz. Fanatiz carries the beIN Sports channels in its Front Row package, which also includes the rest of its South American soccer coverage.
YouTube TV. YouTube TV carries both beIN channels in its Sports Plus add-on, so subscribers with that add-on can watch the semifinal live there as well.
No other U.S. streaming option is confirmed for this match. If anything changes before kickoff, this article will be updated.
Match Preview
This is an all-Brazilian semifinal between two clubs that have not met in a CONMEBOL competition in 55 years. Their only previous meetings in this tournament came in the 1971 group stage, when each club won once. They know each other well from the Brasileirao, and Fluminense won the most recent meeting, 3-2 at the Maracana in August.
Fluminense are the lowest seed left in the tournament. They finished second in their group, came through the round of 16 on penalties against Independiente Rivadavia after a 1-1 aggregate draw, and then beat Platense 3-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinals. The home leg was the decisive one: a 2-0 win at the Maracana with goals from Nonato and Hulk, before a 2-1 defeat in Argentina that still sent them through.
Palmeiras took the harder road. They beat Cerro Porteno 2-1 on aggregate in the round of 16, then won the first leg of their quarterfinal against LDU Quito 1-0 at home. The return in Quito nearly ended their run: Palmeiras lost 3-2, conceding twice in stoppage time, and survived by winning the shootout 4-3, with goalkeeper Carlos Miguel saving two penalties.
The prize is a place in the final on November 28 at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, against the winners of the other semifinal, Estudiantes de La Plata vs Flamengo. Fluminense won this tournament at the Maracana in 2023 and are chasing a second title. Palmeiras lost last year’s final and are chasing a fourth, after titles in 1999, 2020 and 2021.
Recent Form
All competitions. Fluminense’s quarterfinal showed both sides of this team: control at home, then a defeat in Argentina that was still enough. In the Brasileirao, recent results include a 3-1 win at Corinthians and a 4-0 win over Coritiba, when Jefferson Savarino scored a hat trick. On Sunday they lost the Rio derby 1-0 to Flamengo with a rotated team, and they sit in the top four of the Brasileirao on 51 points.
Palmeiras arrive in form. On Sunday they beat Corinthians 4-1 in the derby, with Agustín Giay scoring twice, and their only defeat in the knockout rounds was the 3-2 loss in Quito that still sent them through. In the Brasileirao they are second on 63 points, one point behind Flamengo, with the league’s best defensive record at 22 goals conceded.
Team News
Fluminense will be without five players. Germán Cano, Alisson and Matheus Reis are all in physical transition and not ready to return, Riquelme is out with a grade two hamstring injury, and John Kennedy, the club’s top scorer this season, is out for the rest of the season with a knee ligament injury.
Thiago Silva and Hulk had their minutes managed in the derby and are expected to start for Fluminense. Four Fluminense players, Ganso, Guga, Hércules and Rodrigo Castillo, go into the match one yellow card away from missing the second leg.
Palmeiras’ big absence is Vitor Roque. The forward sprained his right ankle in the derby against Corinthians and did not travel to Rio de Janeiro. Flaco López, Palmeiras’ top scorer in this tournament with three goals, is expected to lead the attack alongside Jhon Arias.
Palmeiras will also be without their head coach on the touchline. Abel Ferreira is suspended after being sent off in the quarterfinal second leg against LDU Quito, so assistant João Martins takes charge at the Maracana. Ramón Sosa trained normally on Tuesday after a thigh knock in the derby and is available, and Paulinho is back in the squad after two and a half months out, although he is not yet fit to start.
Key Storylines
Jhon Arias comes back to the Maracana in the wrong colors. Arias played 230 matches for Fluminense, scored 47 goals and won the 2023 Libertadores with them, then left for Wolverhampton in 2025. When he came back to Brazil in February, Palmeiras signed him for 25 million euros after Fluminense tried and failed to match the deal.
He has three goals and two assists in this tournament for Palmeiras, and he already faced his old club at the Maracana in the August league meeting. Wednesday is his first continental meeting with Fluminense since the move.
Fluminense have to make the Maracana count. Palmeiras finished higher in the group stage, so the second leg will be played in Sao Paulo, and Fluminense’s home leg is their chance to take a lead into the return. Their one home knockout win so far, the 2-0 over Platense, is the template: score here, then defend the lead in the return leg in Sao Paulo.
Palmeiras know how to survive these nights. This is their second straight semifinal, they have already won one shootout in this tournament, and the team is built to function for one match without Abel Ferreira if it has to. Their league form says the same thing: second place, the best defense in the Brasileirao, and a 4-1 derby win in their last outing.
When is the second leg of Fluminense vs Palmeiras?
The second leg is on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at Nubank Parque in Sao Paulo, with kickoff at the same time, 8:30 PM ET. The stadium was known as Allianz Parque until a naming rights change in 2026. The winners of the tie advance to the final on November 28 in Montevideo.
