Flamengo's youth team fought hard but was eliminated by Botafogo in the semifinals of the Rio de Janeiro State Championship. This Saturday, the Rubro-Negros played a commanding performance, and even after falling 2-0 down in the first half, the team came back and equalized in the second half, thanks to Marcelo and Marcinho's two beautiful free kicks. The second, in the final minute, made it 2-2 and sent the game to a penalty shootout.

And the red-and-blacks started well. Goalkeeper Hugo, who missed the first goal for the black-and-whites, redeemed himself with a fine save. But the sequence of shots ultimately didn't favor Flamengo. Marcelo, Marcio, and Rafeal all missed their shots, but only Michael scored, and Botafogo prevailed: 3-1.

The Rubro-Negro played with Hugo, Marcelo, Antônio, Mateus, Márcio and Michael; Bernardo (Pedro), Gabriel, Thiago Ribeiro (Benjamin) and Rafael; Sidney. Coach Leandro Rodrigues, despite the defeat, praised the dedication of his boys.

"We overturned a very difficult scoreline, played well in the second half, but ended up losing on penalties. It happens. But it's important to highlight the boys' will and great performance in the final stage," said the coach.