Botafogo and Chapecoense met on April 21, 2026, at 17h at Nilton Santos in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil's fifth phase. Botafogo entered with a six-game unbeaten run and the memory of a heavy win over Chapecoense in Chapecó the previous weekend.
About 20,000 tickets had been sold in advance, with the Leste Superior sector already sold out. Tickets were still available on /ingresso for Leste Inferior, Oeste Inferior and Oeste Superior B, while there was no in-person ticket service at the stadium on Tuesday.
The match mattered because it opened the fifth phase for both sides in the copa do brasil, and Botafogo was trying to turn a strong stretch of results into an edge at home despite the noise around the club’s finances. The team also had a few selection complications, with Santi Rodríguez and Lucas Villalba left off the list because of the foreign-player limit, while Bastos was in line for a start at center back and Allan could fill the holding midfield role.
Chapecoense arrived with Fabio Matias on the bench, Bolasie rested, and Kevin Ramírez and Italo unavailable because of muscle discomfort. Camilo was still a doubt after missing the Chapecó game because of throat inflammation, though Ênio, a former Botafogo player, was expected to start against his old club.
Botafogo’s listed team was Neto; Vitinho, Ferraresi, Alexander Barboza and Alex Telles; Allan, Cristian Medina and Danilo; Júnior Santos, Arthur Cabral and Matheus Martins. Chapecoense lined up with Rafael Santos; Marcos Vinícius, Bruno Leonardo, Eduardo Doma and Bruno Pacheco; Camilo, João Vitor and Higor Meritão; Ênio, Garcez and Marcinho.
Rodrigo José Pereira de Lima was the referee, with Brígida Cirilo Ferreira and Francisco Chaves Bezerra Junior as assistants and Adriano de Assis Miranda on VAR. The match was broadcast by SporTV and Premiere across Brazil, giving the home crowd and a national audience the first look at a tie that Botafogo was expected to control, but not yet finish.
