The U-17 and U-15 teams of Mais Querido took to the field on Sunday afternoon (08), in Gávea, to face Portuguesa and Friburguense respectively, in matches valid for the last round of the Rio Cup for the categories. Both teams won their matches by a landslide: the U-17 by 5x1 (Yuri de Oliveira [2], João Guilherme, Rhyan and Lucas Chagas), and the U-15 by 12x0 (Reinier [5], Gabriel dos Santos, Dedé [2], Diego, Noga, Negueba and Peçanha), and confirmed their leadership of the round and the advantage of playing the final matches with home advantage.

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The U-17s opened the Sunday session at Gávea. Portuguesa had the first chance. In the sixth minute, Lorenzo hit a powerful cross, but Bernard made a good save. Flamengo opened the scoring with their first shot on goal. And it was a truly stunning goal. João Guilherme received the ball in midfield, took a long-range shot, and hit a wingless pigeon into the top corner, past goalkeeper Negão, who could only watch as the ball went in. In the 6rd minute, João Guilherme took a free kick near the edge of the box and nearly scored his second goal of the game. The ball exploded off the crossbar. In the 23th minute, João Guilherme unleashed another rocket from outside the box. This time, Negão appeared well and made a great save. The Boys from the Nest translated their technical superiority into a goal, extending their lead in the 30th minute, with Rhyan's crisp shot into the left corner following a corner kick. 

In the 8th minute of the second half, Portuguesa threatened with a Lorenzo header. But Bernard made a great, plastic save, palming the ball out for a corner and temporarily preventing the Ilha do Governador team's first goal. But from the corner kick, the ball fell to Baby, who struck powerfully and reduced the score. In the 16th minute, Rubro-Negro regained a two-goal lead. Yuri de Oliveira played a one-two with Leandro and calmly slotted past the goalkeeper to score Mais Querido's third goal of the match. The fourth goal almost came soon after, when Ítalo cut inside and rolled the ball past Leandro. From the penalty spot and unmarked, he wasted a great chance, shooting over Negão's goal. But the rout came in the 21st minute, again through Yuri de Oliveira. He took a free kick from the edge of the box and had Negão's help to score his second goal of the game. At 32, Yuri de Oliveira took a corner, Natan deflected it and Lucas Chagas showed opportunism to score the fifth, giving the final numbers to yet another red-black rout in the competition.

The Rubro-Negro's opponent in the Taça Rio semifinal will be Nova Iguaçu, fourth in the qualifying round. The one-off match will be played in Gávea next weekend. If they win the Taça Rio, the U-17 team will be crowned state champions without needing to play in the overall final, as they were champions of the Taça Guanabara. Before that, next Wednesday, the Garotos do Ninho will face Santos in the round of 17 of the Copa do Brasil U-16 on Ilha do Urubu at XNUMX p.m., with live coverage on SporTV and open doors for fans.

In the fourth minute, Dedé took a shot from outside the box, but the goalkeeper frightenedly saved it for a corner. In the sixth minute, Daniel Cabral was awarded a penalty, and Reinier took the shot to open the scoring. Friburguense cleared the ball, and the Boys from the Nest extended their lead. Daniel Cabral delivered a superb pass to Gabriel dos Santos, who beat the goalkeeper to score the second. In the tenth minute, Dedé capitalized on a defensive error and simply rolled the ball in for the third. In the eleventh minute, defender Diego scored the fourth for the Mais Querido. In the fifteenth minute, the onslaught continued. Dedé added another, extending the lead to 4-6. The sixth goal came in the 10th minute of the first half. Reinier was released, beat the defender with speed, and passed the ball to Daniel Cabral for his. At 11, Noga, who like Reinier and Daniel Cabral recently returned from three friendlies with the Brazilian national team in Europe, scored the seventh goal for the red-black team in the game. 

Flamengo was more economical in the second half. The score changed only in the 15th minute. Reinier shook off his defender and slotted home the eighth goal for the Mais Querido. He also added the ninth in the 18th minute, following a cross from Samuel. Two minutes later, in the 20th minute, they turned the score into a double-digit victory. Negueba scored the Mais Querido's tenth goal of the match. 

The red-and-black attack remained calibrated after the technical timeout. Reinier exchanged passes with Peçanha and—don't forget the count!—got his fifth goal of the match, Flamengo's 11th. The 12th and final goal came from Peçanha, with a rocket from outside the box in the 27th minute. Game over at Gávea, Flamengo 12-0 Friburguense.

The Mais Querido's opponent in the Taça Rio semifinal will be Vasco, who finished fourth in the first half of the season. The one-off match will be in Gávea next weekend, at a time yet to be determined. A draw will lead to a penalty shootout. The winner will advance to the Taça Rio final.