U-17s beat Santos on penalties and reach their fourth final of the season
Flamengo drew in normal time and had goalkeeper Pedro Victor inspired in the penalties
By Mariana Sa - inIt's Mengão in the decision! On Thursday afternoon (22), Flamengo beat Santos on penalties and secured a spot in the grand final of the U-17 Brazil Cup. After a 1-1 draw in normal time, the same result as the first leg, the teams battled for a spot on penalties and the Mais Querido won 4-2. The goal was scored by Luis Gustavo.
With this result, Flamengo reaches its fourth trophy race of the season. After reaching and winning the finals of the Guanabara Cup, the Dallas Cup (USA), and the Evergrande Cup (China), Flamengo now competes for the title of another important national competition.
The Copa do Brasil final will be against Fluminense. The date, time, and location of the match have not yet been set, as they will be announced later by the CBF.
The game
The match started off tough due to the intense heat in Nova Iguaçu. With the teams closely studying each other from the start, Flamengo performed better in the first half and managed to scare the Santos goalkeeper. In the 17th minute, Reinier earned his first significant opportunity with a well-placed attacking move and a cross into the box. The defense cleared the ball, and it fell to Daniel Cabral, who fired a dangerous left-footed shot over the bar. Shortly after, the number 10 saw the goalkeeper out of position and attempted a lob from the middle of the field, but the goalkeeper saved.
The match started off tough due to the intense heat in Nova Iguaçu. With the teams closely studying each other from the start, Flamengo performed better in the first half and managed to scare the Santos goalkeeper. In the 17th minute, Reinier earned his first significant opportunity with a well-placed attacking move and a cross into the box. The defense cleared the ball, and it fell to Daniel Cabral, who fired a dangerous left-footed shot over the bar. Shortly after, the number 10 saw the goalkeeper out of position and attempted a lob from the middle of the field, but the goalkeeper saved.
The Rubro-Negro, with the better side on the field, still had excellent opportunities in the following minutes, defending well. In the final part of the first half, Santos managed to create more chances and came close to Pedro Victor's goal, but the score remained 0-0.
After the break, there was a scare in the fourth minute. Yuri burst into the box and managed to open the scoring for Santos with a clean shot. Flamengo then applied intense pressure to equalize the match, pushing for the opposing goal. With good opportunities, Flamengo managed to equalize in the 4st minute, when Luis Gustavo pounced on a loose ball from a corner kick and slotted it into the back of the net.
In the 26th minute, Braian committed a hard foul on a Santos player and was sent off. Even so, Mengo didn't stop fighting and pushed forward in search of a second goal, but the opposing goalkeeper was denied by their big chances. Thus, the score ended 1-1, and the match went to penalties.
Pedro Victor nearly saved the first penalty. Gomes then scored his own, leveling the score. The Flamengo goalkeeper jumped brilliantly on the second penalty and made a great save, also preventing Flamengo's third. João Gabriel and Sidney struck with power and precision to put Flamengo ahead. Despite conceding a goal for Santos, Natan didn't let Santos dream, putting the ball in the back of the net and sealing the team's qualification.
Starting lineup: Pedro Victor, Braian, Natan, Lucas Freitas, Daniel Cabral, Ítalo, Lázaro, Gomes, Rhyan, Reinier and Yuri de Oliveira.