# 2022 Copa do Nordeste qualification

The 2022 Copa do Nordeste qualification (officially the Eliminatórias Copa do Nordeste 2022) was the qualifying tournament of the 2022 Copa do Nordeste. It was played from 12 October to 18 November 2021. Twenty-four teams competed to decide four places in the Copa do Nordeste.

## Format changes

The tournament was renamed from Pré-Copa do Nordeste to Eliminatórias Copa do Nordeste. Starting from this season, the following format changes were implemented:
* The tournament was expanded from eight to twenty-four teams. The teams either qualified by participating in their respective state championships or by the 2021 CBF ranking.
* The teams competed in three rounds where the four winners advanced to the Copa do Nordeste (initially 8 teams would compete in one round).

## Qualified teams

The three best placed federations in the 2021 CBF state ranking (Ceará, Bahia, and Pernambuco) earned three berths in the tournament, while the remaining six federations earned two. Additionally, it also qualified the three best placed teams in the CBF 2021 ranking not already qualified regardless of the federation.
| Association | Team | Qualification method |
| Alagoas 2 berths | CRB | 2021 Campeonato Alagoano runners-up |
| Alagoas 2 berths | ASA | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Bahia 3 + 1 berths | Bahia de Feira | 2021 Campeonato Baiano runners-up |
| Bahia 3 + 1 berths | Juazeirense | 2021 Campeonato Baiano 3rd place |
| Bahia 3 + 1 berths | Vitória | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Bahia 3 + 1 berths | Jacuipense | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Ceará 3 berths | Ferroviário | 2021 Campeonato Cearense 3rd place |
| Ceará 3 berths | Atlético Cearense | 2021 Campeonato Cearense 4th place |
| Ceará 3 berths | Floresta | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Maranhão 2 berths | Moto Club | 2021 Campeonato Maranhense runners-up |
| Maranhão 2 berths | Imperatriz | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Paraíba 2 + 1 berths | Sousa | 2021 Campeonato Paraibano runners-up |
| Paraíba 2 + 1 berths | Botafogo-PB | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Paraíba 2 + 1 berths | Treze | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Pernambuco 3 berths | Santa Cruz | 2021 Campeonato Pernambucano 4th place |
| Pernambuco 3 berths | Retrô | 2021 Campeonato Pernambucano 7th place |
| Pernambuco 3 berths | Central | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Piauí 2 berths | Fluminense-PI | 2021 Campeonato Piauiense runners-up |
| Piauí 2 berths | River | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Rio Grande do Norte 2 berths | ABC | 2021 Campeonato Potiguar runners-up |
| Rio Grande do Norte 2 berths | América de Natal | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Sergipe 2 + 1 berths | Lagarto | 2021 Campeonato Sergipano runners-up |
| Sergipe 2 + 1 berths | Confiança | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
| Sergipe 2 + 1 berths | Itabaiana | best placed team in the 2021 CBF ranking not already qualified |
    $^a$ Salgueiro, Afogados and Vera Cruz (2021 Campeonato Pernambucano 3rd place, 5th place and 6th place, respectively) declined to participate in the Copa do Nordeste. They were replaced by the 7th place Retrô.

## Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.
| Round | First leg | Second leg |
| First round | 12–16 October 2021 | 12–16 October 2021 |
| Second round | 19–21 October 2021 | 19–21 October 2021 |
| Third round | 26–30 October 2021 | 2–18 November 2021 |

## Draw

The draw for the group stage was held on 2 September 2021, 12:00, at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. The teams were seeded by their 2021 CBF ranking (shown in parentheses) and divided in four pots.
| Pot I | Pot II | Pot III A | Pot III B |
| Imperatriz (61) Treze (65) Moto Club (67) Jacuipense (71) Itabaiana (73) River (77) ASA (78) Juazeirense (81) | Central (86) Floresta (91) Bahia de Feira (103) Atlético Cearense (119) Sousa (192) Lagarto (209) Fluminense-PI (no rank) Retrô (no rank) | Vitória (23) CRB (31) Santa Cruz (41) Confiança (47) | Botafogo-PB (49) ABC (52) Ferroviário (57) América de Natal (59) |
For the first round, the sixteen teams from the Pots I and II were drawn into eight ties, with the teams from the Pot I hosting the leg. For the second round, the eight teams from the Pots III A and III B were drawn into eight ties, while the eight winners of the first round were allocated without any draw into the ties. For the third round, the eight winners of the second round were allocated without any draw into the following four ties, with the team in each tie with the higher CBF ranking hosting the second leg. Teams from the Pot III A could not be drawn into the same tie.

## Competition format

The teams played a single-elimination tournament with the following rules:
* The first and second rounds were played on a single-leg basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the leg.
** If tied, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winners.
* The third round was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg.
** If tied on aggregate, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winners.
* Extra time would not be played and away goals rule would not be used during the tournament.

## First round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| River | 5–0 | Lagarto |
| Moto Club | 3–2 | Retrô |
| Treze | 1–3 | Floresta |
| Juazeirense | 1–0 | Central |
| ASA | 1–2 | Sousa |
| Jacuipense | 1–0 | Atlético Cearense |
| Itabaiana | 1–1 (3–1 p) | Bahia de Feira |
| Imperatriz | 1–1 (5–4 p) | Fluminense-PI |

## Second round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| CRB | 2–1 | River |
| América de Natal | 1–1 (4–5 p) | Moto Club |
| Santa Cruz | 3–3 (2–4 p) | Floresta |
| Ferroviário | 4–0 | Juazeirense |
| Confiança | 1–1 (4–5 p) | Sousa |
| ABC | 4–2 | Jacuipense |
| Vitória | 3–0 | Itabaiana |
| Botafogo-PB | 2–0 | Imperatriz |

## Third round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Moto Club | 2–3 | CRB | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Floresta | 1–1 (4–3 p) | Ferroviário | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Sousa | 4–2 | ABC | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Botafogo-PB | 3–3 (6–5 p) | Vitória | 1–1 | 2–2 |

## 2022 Copa do Nordeste qualified teams

The following four teams qualified for the 2022 Copa do Nordeste.
| State | Team |
| Alagoas | CRB |
| Ceará | Floresta |
| Paraíba | Sousa |
| Paraíba | Botafogo-PB |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Negueba | ABC | 3 |
| 1 | Arthur | Sousa | 2 |
| 1 | Éderson | Botafogo-PB | 2 |
| 1 | Edson Cariús | Ferroviário | 2 |
| 1 | Emerson Negueba | CRB | 2 |
| 1 | Fabio Alves | Floresta | 2 |
| 1 | Igor Bádio | River | 2 |
| 1 | Maílson | Floresta | 2 |
| 1 | Pipico | Santa Cruz | 2 |
| 1 | Wallace Lima | Moto Club | 2 |
| 1 | Wallyson | ABC | 2 |
Source:CBF