In the final match of Group 23 of the São Paulo Junior Football Cup, the Garotos do Ninho played a very tight game against São Caetano. They opened the scoring with a goal from Vinícius Junior in the first half, only to see their opponent equalize early in the second half. The 1-1 final score, besides maintaining the Rubro-Negro's long unbeaten streak in the competition, means Flamengo finishes the group stage with its initial goal achieved: the group lead and maintaining its São Caetano home base for the next stage, thus avoiding any travel. This is a significant advantage in the marathon the team faces (if they reach the final, they will have nine games in just 21 days). Their next opponent will be Nacional (SP), second in Group 24 with three points. The group leader was Goiás, who faces São Caetano in São Paulo. The two winners will face each other in the Copinha tournament.

Playing in a packed Anacleto Campanella stadium, the Garotos do Ninho started the match on the attack. Just two minutes in, left-back Moraes, who was called up from Rio de Janeiro due to Michael's injury and arrived in São Caetano this Sunday morning, delivered a great cross, and Lincoln nearly scored the first with a header. In the 2th minute, Flamengo opened the scoring with a great team move. Kleber passed to Theo, who returned a beautiful backheel pass. The ball reached Lincoln, who passed it to Vinícius Junior, who finished cross-field and broke the deadlock. Flamengo dominated the game and nearly extended their lead shortly after. Vinícius Junior launched a quick counterattack and passed to Lincoln, who nearly scored the second. In the 14th minute, Hugo Moura attempted a beautiful left-footed shot from outside the box, but goalkeeper Wagner made a great save.

"I think my debut as a starter could have been better, since our team didn't come away with the victory. But I believe I did well in the game and managed to help the group, which for me is always the most important thing. It was important that we were top, because we will remain in São Caetano. The field is good and wide, our fans turned out in large numbers for every game, and that gives us even more motivation to go far in this competition," said Vinícius Junior.

Playing in front of their home crowd, who turned out in large numbers, São Caetano went all-out at the start of the second half. And the strategy paid off. In the 9th minute, João Mello equalized after a cross into the box. The ball deflected off Moraes before going in. In the 10th minute, Flamengo nearly regained the lead when João Pedro passed the ball to Theo, who shot over the bar. In the 19th minute, Vinícius Junior was brought down in the box in a highly controversial incident. The referee didn't award a penalty and instead gave the Flamengo player a yellow card for simulation.

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From then on, the game became an attack versus defense, with the Mais Querido putting a lot of pressure on the rhythm of their fans, who filled the designated space in the stands and sang loudly throughout the match, and the Azulão simply defending. Flamengo almost scored the second with Hugo Moura in the 22nd minute, Gabriel Silva in the 36th, and Kleber in the 39th. But the ball wouldn't go in, and the draw gave the Garotos do Ninho the lead in the group at the end of the third and final round.

"Today, once again, we proved that we are a highly qualified group. We made some changes, some out of necessity and others by choice. This is very important because it gives us the opportunity to give our entire squad a chance in such an important competition as the Copa São Paulo. I have great confidence in all the players, so I have no reason to fear changes when they are necessary. I'm very satisfied. Obviously, we wanted the nine points, but the seven we earned gave us the top spot in the group, and that's the most important thing," said coach Gilmar Popoca. "Our group might have seemed easy, but it's not at all. We faced teams of great quality and physical strength, and the fact that we maintained our home ground and avoided any travel to the next stage is very important to avoid further exhaustion on our players. Now we'll rest a lot, and our expectation is to play a great game against Nacional and continue to improve in the competition, which will become increasingly narrow," concluded the red-and-black coach.