Sunday night wasn't just about victory in the São Paulo Junior Football Cup. Showing that the red-and-black youth soccer team remains very strong for another season, the U-15 team had a do-or-die match in the final round of the qualifying phase of the Votorantim Cup, the main national competition in the category. And they left the field victorious. In a national derby against Grêmio, played at the Votorantim Municipal Stadium, the Mais Querido defeated the team from Rio Grande do Sul 2-1 (Daniel and João Pedro), and secured their spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The current champions of the competition, the Garotos do Ninho remain in the hunt for their third title in Votorantim history, and will face Internacional next Wednesday (17), at 18:30 pm.

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After drawing with Palmeiras and Sport, the "Mais Querido" (the "Most Beloved") took the field knowing that only a victory was enough to advance in the tournament, and they went all out from the start. Just three minutes in, João Pedro controlled the ball and set off at lightning speed. His low cross was dangerous, but was cleared by the opposing defense. In the 20th minute, Kassio recovered the ball in the middle and passed it to João Vitor, who attempted a cross into the box. The ball deflected off the Grêmio defender's arm, but the referee turned a blind eye and didn't award a penalty. Justice was served on the next play. João Pedro made the tackle on the right wing and delivered a beautiful through ball to Daniel. He calmly and skillfully finished between the goalkeeper and the post, opening the scoring for the "Garotos do Ninho" (the "Ninho Boys").

Grêmio had the first chance to score in the second half. Samuel cleared the ball from a corner kick at the near post. Following the play, Kassio got ahead of the Rio Grande do Sul striker and managed to clear the danger at the right time. But it was the Rubro-Negro who scored. After another Grêmio corner kick in the ninth minute, Samuel cleared the ball, and the ball fell to João Pedro. The striker led the counterattack, speeding past two defenders, and chipped the ball over the top to score a stunning goal that gave Flamengo the edge in the game. 

Grêmio pulled one back in the 20th minute when Jean got the better of the Flamengo defense and fired past Christian. In the 30th minute, in the final play of the game, João Pedro fired a low shot past the goalkeeper, but the defense cleared it off the line, preventing the Mais Querido's third goal. But it was not missed, and Flamengo left the field celebrating their qualification to the quarterfinals of the Copa Votorantim, keeping their goal of a third title in the competition very much alive. 

"We faced a first phase with three very competitive and difficult games, which was great for us to feel the weight of this competition and become increasingly focused. Thanks to God and the commitment of the entire team, we qualified. We are very strong and prepared for the match against Inter. We know the difficulties, but we will go in very focused on our biggest goal, which is always the title," said Samuel.

Flamengo: Christian, Samuel, Diego, Kaiky, Richard, Jorge, Kassio, Piauí, Daniel (Ryan), João Pedro and João Vitor. Coach: Mario Jorge.