Playing with 13 absences, with a group formed primarily by athletes from the U-17 and U-18 categories who had never trained together, Flamengo began its journey in the fight for the second Brazilian championship in the category with a 2-1 defeat (Gustavo) to Internacional, current champion of the São Paulo Cup. The match was played on Thursday afternoon (24) at Morada dos Quero-Queros, in Alvorada (RS). In the next round, Mais Querido hosts América MG, on Sunday (27) at 15 pm, in Gávea. Before, on Saturday, once again represented by the U-18 squad and with live broadcast on FLATV and images starting at 14:15 pm, Rubro-Negro faces Resende, in the seventh round of the Guanabara Cup.

The game started evenly, with few scoring chances. Playing with a disjointed team and under intense heat, Flamengo tried to maintain possession and dictate the pace of the game. The strategy worked until the 30th minute. On the counterattack, Internacional opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with Lucas Ramos. They extended their lead in the 38th minute with Tavares. 

The Red and Whites came back stronger in the second half and quickly created three good chances to equalize. In the eighth minute, Max took a shot from outside the box; the ball deflected off Rhyan Paradela and went dangerously wide of the left side of the goal. In the 12th minute, Gustavo took a shot from mid-range, but the goalkeeper saved it without rebounding. And in the 15th minute, in the Red and Blacks' best chance so far, Maycon crossed, and Weverton arrived a fraction of a second too late at the far post, narrowly missing the goalkeeper's shot.

Superior to their opponents, especially in the final 20 minutes of the game, the Mais Querido were gifted with a goal in the 45th minute. João Gabriel sent a beautiful ball through the defense to Weverton, who beat his marker with speed and was brought down inside the box. Captain Gustavo converted with precision, sealing the victory.

Flamengo: Pedro Caracoci, Jadson (Jhonata), Diego Ritter, Gustavo, Pablo; Pedro Franco (Igor Lemos), Danilo (Maycon), Max (Will); João Pedro, André (Weverton) and Rhyan Paradela (João Gabriel). Coach: Mauricio Souza.