On Wednesday night (13), the Garotos do Ninho took an important step towards winning another international competition this year. Fla drew 1-1 with Cremonese (ITA), with a goal by Wendel, for the 42nd Trofeo Dossena, which is being played in Crema, Italy. After three rounds, Mais Querido qualified for the semifinals as leader of group A with 5 points. With two draws and one victory in the qualifying phase, Fla will face Chievo Verona (ITA) this Friday in the final phase of the competition. 

The tournament, which began last Monday (11), has demanded a lot from the Garotos do Ninho, with three consecutive games against Italian teams known for their aggressive approach to facing their opponents. Coach Márcio Torres commented on the experience in the international competition.

"It's a high-level competition. A very good experience for the athletes. We played daily matches with a limited number of players, we traveled with 16 outfield players, and they're doing very well. Now comes the semifinal, and we have to recover players who suffered some kind of injury today, nothing that will rule anyone out of the match. The Italians play very hard, they're very aggressive, but in a way, it's very good for our players, they learned how the Italian school of play plays; that's in their DNA."  

Finalists in the last four editions and current champions, Cremonese proved to be a team that would give the "Garotos do Ninho" some trouble. The Italian team started the match well, and in the opening minutes, Spaviero nearly opened the scoring. Flamengo's first good chance came from Vitor Gabriel, who hit the post with a well-placed shot. "Mais Querido" opened the scoring late in the first half. In the 40th minute, Wendel crossed the ball to put "Mais Querido" ahead and head into halftime with the advantage. 

In the second half, Cremonese prowled the red-and-black box until equalizing in the 17th minute with a Spaviero goal. The draw proved to be a good deal for both teams, who qualified for the semifinals. Flamengo faces Chievo Verona this Friday at 20 pm (local time). Cremonese plays the other semifinal against Atalanta at 22 pm (local time).

The Angelo Dossena Trophy is a football tournament held in the European summer since 1977 and reserved for under-19 teams. In addition to Italian teams, clubs from around the world are invited to participate. It's worth noting that Grêmio, Internacional, Ituano, and Bahia have already won the Italian competition.

The current format for the competition is to divide the eight participating teams into two groups of four teams each. In the qualifying round, the teams in each group face each other in a points-based system. The top two teams in each group qualify for the semifinals. Semifinals and finals are played as single matches.

The tournament is named after Italian doctor Angelo Dossena, who was part of the medical staff of the Associazione Calcio Crema from 1952. He also served as president of the team from 1975 to 1977, particularly promoting youth football. After his death on March 29, 1977, the under-19 competition was named after him in tribute.