Flamengo's Under-16 team, led by coach Leo Ramos, remains undefeated in the 2022 season. After winning the Olaria Renovado Cup with a resounding 4-3 victory over Vasco, with a last-minute goal, the "Garotos do Ninho" (Flamengo's youth team) were given the mission of representing the Under-17 category in a high-level competition: the Brasileirinho Internacional Cup. And in the three group stage matches, they rose to the occasion. With a record of two wins and one draw, Flamengo qualified as leaders of Group 1 in the tournament.

The campaign

Based in the city of São João Del Rei, in the interior of Minas Gerais, Rubro-Negro debuted on Tuesday (29) facing the JM Sports team (MG). With ample dominance from the first minute of the game, the Garotos do Ninho gave no chance to the opponent, and thrashed them 8-0 (Lucas Matheus (2), Pyetro (2), Gusttavo, Luan Andrey, Marcelinho and Sandro).

In the second round, a very tough match against Monsoon (RS). After seeing their opponent take a 2-0 lead early in the second half, Flamengo showed maturity even with a younger team on the field, and fought back to tie the game with goals from Lucas Matheus and Luan Andrey.

On the afternoon of this Thursday (31), Mengão returned to the field for the duel valid for the third and final round of the group stage. Facing Athletic (MG), the home team, Flamengo won 1-0, with a goal by Lucas Matheus, who reached his fourth goal in the Copa Brasileirinho Internacional, and confirmed their qualification for the second phase as leader of Group 1.

“I see a very positive evolution of the team throughout this first phase. In the debut, we managed to impose ourselves on the field from the first minute and deservedly built a beautiful and important victory. Against Monsoon, we faced very unfavorable conditions regarding the pitch, which was very poor, and we saw the opponent open the scoring with a dubious penalty. With great maturity from the team, we sought the equalizer, and we had good chances to turn the score around. Today, in the third game, a very balanced match against the home team, with few chances for either side. Even so, we controlled the game even against a more experienced team, and we won the game with a goal from Lucas Matheus,” summarized Thiago Aprígio, Technical Coordinator who is accompanying the delegation in the Copa Brasileirinho Internacional competition.

From now on, the competition will be played in a knockout system. Of the 48 teams that started the competition, 32 remain in the fight for the title. The opponent of the Flamengo youth team will be determined after a draw, which will only take place at the end of the night tonight. Due to their performance in the first phase, Flamengo will be one of the seeded teams in the draw.