With both teams already qualified for the next stage of the São Paulo Junior Football Cup, the match between Flamengo and São Caetano, scheduled for Sunday night (January 08.01) at 19:45 pm, is up for grabs for first place in Group 23 of the competition. Although the spot is already decided, finishing first in the group is a very important factor: in addition to favoring the team with theoretically less difficult matches from the round of 24 onwards, the first-place team will remain in São Caetano and host the second-place team in Group 11.01 – currently Nacional (SP) – at Anacleto Campanella Stadium, most likely on Wednesday (January 24). The second-place team will have to travel to São Paulo to face the winner of Group XNUMX, which is expected to be Goiás. The decisive match will be broadcast live on SporTV and ESPN Brasil.

After a strong performance in the competition's opening match, beating Central (PE) 5-0, Flamengo struggled to defeat São Bento (SP) 2-1 on Friday night. The victory and the tough match, which gave Flamengo the advantage of a draw for the match against São Caetano, were viewed positively by coach Gilmar Popoca.

"Sometimes it's good to get a scare. There are times when our team needs it. Our debut was very good, we played excellent football and built a big score, and that could create the impression that every game would be easy, which is far from the truth. We're playing in a very difficult competition, with a very high level of football, and that was an atypical game. We'll face many difficulties in every game, and we need to be aware of that. The match against São Bento was very tough, and against São Caetano it will be even tougher. They'll come at us with everything they have, looking for the win, and they'll have a huge support from their fans. We hope to count on the support of the Red-Black Nation once again. We expect to put on a great performance," said Gilmar Popoca.

Fan club members get more Flamengo on the field: the money goes to football and brings more reinforcements, new talent, and structure to the training center! Click and feel the pride of being a fan club member.

After turning heads in the final play of the first half against São Bento, scoring a header despite his diminutive stature, right-back Kleber surprised again in the second half, putting in a strong performance as a makeshift left-back after Michael, who was playing that position, suffered a muscle injury. Happy to have helped the team, Kleber discussed the highlights of the last match and previewed the match against São Caetano.

"Actually, this situation had already happened to me once when I was still in the Juvenil team. Our left-back got injured, and I was moved into that position. I don't feel as good as I did in my original position, but I believe I can do the job well and I'm always available to help the group and Gilmar Popoca with whatever is needed. Thank God I did well. As for the goal, I'm not really used to scoring many headed goals due to my height, but I've scored a few. Sometimes, my momentum helps and surprises the opposing defenders," said Kleber, who added: "We've already qualified, but we know the importance of the game against São Caetano. We're at the top of the group, getting as many points as possible at this stage will be important later in the competition, and we want to bring joy to our fans. We'll go in strong, as always, looking for another victory," concluded the right-back.