In a match held on Wednesday afternoon (18) at Vila Belmiro, Flamengo's U-17 team was defeated by Santos 2x1 (Vitor Gabriel). However, as they had beaten Peixe 5-2 in the first leg, played on 11/10, at Ilha do Urubu, The Mais Querido secured its place in the quarterfinals of the top national competition in the category. The Rubro-Negro's opponent in the next round will be Cruzeiro, who defeated Internacional 4-2 on aggregate. The home team order and match dates are yet to be announced by the CBF.

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The national derby was played in blistering heat at the world's most famous Vila. Desperate for an unlikely result that would secure qualification for the next round, Santos tried to impose their game and attack from the first minute. But the first two good chances fell to Santos. In the sixth minute, Vitor Gabriel shot over the bar. In the tenth minute, Yuri took a free kick that goalkeeper Jeimes made a good save. In the twelfth minute, Santos opened the scoring with Denilson. The "Garotos do Ninho" (The Boys of the Nest) felt the pain of conceding a goal, and soon after, Santos almost extended their lead with a Giovanni header, but Victor Hugo made a great save and kept the score as it was. In the seventeenth minute, Wendel fired a powerful shot from the edge of the box, which Jeimes made a great save. Santos pressed hard in the final minutes, creating good chances with Rodrygo and Mikael. But the teams went to the locker room with the score at 6-10.

After a halftime talk with coach Marcio Torres and the introduction of Marx Lenin in place of Luan, Santos finally managed to balance the action on the field, and seemed to get their heads in the game and the ball on the ground. And then, their technical quality finally began to shine. In the sixth minute, the equalizer came. Matheus Alves delivered a beautiful pass to Vitor Gabriel. He controlled the ball with his chest and struck with great skill to equalize the score and restore the Garotos do Ninho's composure. In the 6th minute, Lucas Sena crossed a shot from inside the box, and Victor Hugo made an excellent save. Ramon cleared the danger on the rebound. Santos began to press again. In the 25th minute, Luís Felipe missed an easy goal inside the Santos box. 

Despite Santos' pressure, the game seemed under control when, in the 40th minute, Rodrygo scored the second for the São Paulo team, which tried to press but was unsuccessful. In the final minutes, Wendel nearly equalized with a shot from the edge of the box, but Jeimes made a magnificent save, saving Santos. Then it was just a matter of waiting for the final whistle and, despite the negative result, celebrating qualification for the quarterfinals of the Copa do Brasil.

"It was a very difficult match against a very high-quality opponent. Thank God we built a great score playing at Ilha do Urubu, and we managed to qualify for the quarterfinals. Having the opportunity to play and score a goal at Vila Belmiro, the birthplace of great soccer stars like Pelé and Neymar, is something that makes me very happy and motivated to continue my fight towards all my dreams," said top scorer Vitor Gabriel, who has four goals in three games in the Copa do Brasil. 

Before starting the quarterfinals against Cruzeiro, the U-17 team begins deciding the Taça Rio this Saturday (21), playing the first match against Botafogo at Engenhão. The return match will be the following weekend, at Gávea. As it was champion of the Taça Guanabara, if it also wins the Taça Rio, Flamengo will be the two-time state champion without the need to play in the overall final of the competition. 

The Red-Black team took to the field at Vila Belmiro with Victor Hugo, Ramon (Teo), Ari, Patrick, Pablo, Henrique (Lucas Gabriel), Matheus Alves, Luan (Marx Lenin), Wendel, Yuri (Rhyan) and Vitor Gabriel (João Guilherme). Coach: Márcio Torres.