The options for Nacional, América, Bucaramanga and Once Caldas after the Libertadores and Sudamericana draws

Colombian teams now know their path to the final stages of CONMEBOL tournaments, following the draws held this Monday at the entity's headquarters in Asunción.

The four Liga BetPlay representatives who reached the group stage remain in the competition. It's worth remembering that, in the previous rounds, Santa Fe and Tolima were eliminated from the Copa Libertadores, and Junior and Millonarios were eliminated from the Sudamericana.

Atlético Nacional, the only Colombian team surviving in the Copa Libertadores, faces a very tough challenge. They will face São Paulo of Brazil, the second-highest points-earning team in the tournament's group stage, in the round of 16.

Javier Gandolfi's team is, on paper, in the toughest part of the draw: if they advance to the quarterfinals, they will face the winner of the tie between the current Libertadores champion, Botafogo, and Liga de Quito, one of the tournament's historic leaders and winners of the Cup in 2008. And on that same side are Palmeiras, the best team in the group stage, who will face Universitario de Lima in the round of 16, and River Plate, who will play Libertad of Paraguay.

The Copa Libertadores round of 16 will be played between August 13 and 20.

Another team that had a tough draw in the Copa Sudamericana is América de Cali, which must first eliminate Bahía de Brasil in the playoffs. The team finished third in Group F of the Libertadores, where Nacional was. If they win, they will face Fluminense, one of the title contenders and winners of the group F where Once Caldas was located.

The 'white and white' team, meanwhile, already has an opponent, should they overcome San Antonio Bulo Bulo of Bolivia. They would play against Huracán, the winner of the group stage where América was located and who are coming off a loss in the Argentine league final against the surprising Platense.

Bucaramanga was relegated from the Libertadores to the Sudamericana and faced a tough opponent, Atlético Mineiro. If they advance, they'll face Godoy Cruz of Argentina.

Once Caldas and Bucaramanga are in the same group, but they would only face each other in the semifinals of the tournament. América is on the other side, and the only way to meet another Colombian club would be in a possible final, on November 22 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

The Sudamericana Round of 16 playoffs will be played between July 16 and 23.