In the third round of the Gramado Laghetto Cup, Flamengo's U-16 team lost to Juventude 1-0 on Wednesday morning (14), at the Ernesto Volk Sports Complex (Ernestão). Despite the defeat, it is worth noting that the Garotos do Ninho had already secured qualification for the semi-final of the competition, which will be played tomorrow.  

The game
With numerous changes to the starting lineup, Flamengo began the match moving the ball around in their own half, trying to create space in Juventude's defense, which was positioned very tightly. In the 10th minute, the first sharp move came from Luan Andrey, who received the ball on the left, cut inside, and shot, but the ball was skewed, and the goalkeeper was able to make a save.

Juventude pressured the red-and-black team's ball possession, making it difficult to exchange passes and transition into attack. The Mais Querido was slightly superior in the first half, but ended up going into halftime with the score 0-0.

In the second half, Rubro-Negro continued to try to break through the Gaucho team's defense. But in the 21st minute, Juventude opened the scoring with Alê, who managed a slight deflection inside the box to score: 1-0.

Flamengo fought for an equalizer until the final seconds of the game to maintain its unbeaten run, but ultimately lost. The Boys of the Nest finished the first stage of the Gramado Cup with six points from three games.

Next appointment
Having qualified for the next phase with one round to spare, the U-16s await their semi-final opponent, which takes place this Thursday (15), at 15 pm, at the Ernestão stadium.

Flamengo lineup
Alysson; Alex (Pedro Lemos), Luis Guilherme (Lucas Barbosa), Victor Thiago and Pedro Nunes; Schilickmann, Pedrinho (Guilherme) and Fabricio (Edmilson); Luan Andrey (Germano), Manu (Felipe Teresa) and David.
Coach: Eduardo Zuma.