Flamengo's under-20 team continues to prepare at CT George Helal - Ninho do Urubu, aiming for its debut in the Otávio Pinto Guimarães Tournament. Flamengo will take to the field against Audax, this Saturday (13), in Gávea, at 15 pm, the same squad that played in the Brazilian Championship and reached the semifinal of the competition.

Coach Marcio Torres' team had the best campaign in the history of Mais Querido in the Brazilian Championship in the category and, now, the focus is on the OPG competition, another competition that is part of the athletes' training process calendar, as highlighted by the technical coordinator of the under-20 category, Ludyo Santos. 

"The OPG Tournament is another state-level competition, part of the youth development calendar. This year, we'll also have the RS Cup, a competition in the south of the country featuring major national clubs and some South American clubs, likely in December."

"Every youth athlete needs games as a benchmark for their development. Because this is the U-20 category, athletes already require more consistent performance. This is another short-term competition, with consecutive games. While maintaining a balance between training load and matches, we will always use the athletes who are best prepared and most available in the U-20 category at the time, understanding that we need to respect the players' current situation and provide competitive games for their development," concluded the coordinator.

Flamengo, the OPG's biggest champion with nine titles, tops Group A, which also includes Carapebus, Audax, and Nova Iguaçú. The teams will play each other within the group in a single round. The first and second-place teams from each group advance to the second round.