Boston River stuns Nacional 2-1 in Clausura opener

The Clausura kicked off and the surprises started right away. Boston River beat Nacional 2-1 in the match that closed out the weekend's action, a blow that serves as an early warning sign for the Tricolor right at the start of a tournament that promises to be tightly contested.

The weekend of August 7 to 10 had a bit of everything: upsets, a suspended match and a few draws that left the teams chasing three points wanting more. Matchday 1 of the 2026 Torneo Clausura in Uruguay's AUF League opened on Friday with a 1-1 draw between Cerro Largo and Juventud, and the action didn't let up until Monday.

Saturday brought narrow wins, the kind decided by a single goal and then nursed home: Central Español beat Progreso 1-0 and Liverpool beat Albion 1-0. But what was supposed to be the marquee matchup of the day, the clash between Montevideo City Torque and Peñarol, never got played. A failure in the stadium's floodlight system forced the match to be suspended, and it's still awaiting a new date.

Sunday was the busiest day of the round. Cerro edged Danubio 1-0 and Wanderers did the same against Defensor Sporting, also by a single goal. Then came the result that made the most noise: Nacional fell 2-1 to Boston River, a defeat that hits hard right out of the gate for a team that's expected to fight near the top in every tournament it plays.

Closing out the round on Monday, Deportivo Maldonado and Racing tied 2-2 in a back and forth match that made clear nobody was giving anything away in this opening stretch.

What's next, and a name that will go down in the tournament's history

Matchday 2 already has its date and time set, and it opens with a matchup that has the flavor of revenge: on Saturday, August 15 at 4:30 p.m., Racing will host Nacional, who will be eager to shake off the bad taste from the opening round as quickly as possible. That same weekend, Peñarol will visit Central Español on Sunday at 6:30 p.m., also looking for its first match of the season after the suspension left it without a debut.

One detail worth noting gives context to the whole championship: this Clausura carries the name of Juan Lema Benso, while the 2026 Campeonato Uruguayo as a whole was named in honor of Juan Carlos De Lima, a former Nacional and Peñarol player who passed away in October 2025. The Apertura, for its part, had carried the name of Rafael Peña, and the Intermedio that of Héctor "Manco" Castro.

Another note for the calendar: Peñarol won't play at home at the Estadio Campeón del Siglo again until the fourth matchday, so its fans will have to wait a bit longer to see the team back on its own turf. In the meantime, the schedule rolls on, with the first fifteen rounds already set and every match available live on Disney+ Plan Premium.