SPECULATED IN FLAMENGO, THIAGO ALCÂNTARA DECIDES TO RETIRE FROM FOOTBALL

This Sunday (17), at 10:30 am (Brasília time), Palmeiras and Flamengo face each other at Arena Barueri for the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Brazilian Women's Championship. The match will be broadcast live on TV Globo, Sportv and TV Brasil , as well as in real time on ge.

In the first leg, Flamengo won 3-2, earning their first victory against Palmeiras in women's soccer history. Djeni opened and closed the scoring, while Jucinara scored the second goal for Flamengo. For Flamengo, Tainá Maranhão scored twice. The result gives the Meninas da Gávea the advantage of a draw on aggregate. If Palmeiras recovers the one-goal deficit, the match will go to penalties.

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FLAMENGO'S ADVANTAGE

Until the first leg, the teams' head-to-head record showed a clear advantage for Palmeiras, with seven meetings between them, all of which went to Palmeiras. The red-and-black victory at Gávea broke that record and raised expectations for a tight duel in São Paulo.

In addition to a spot in the semifinals, the competition also involves the battle for top scorer. Palmeiras' Amanda Gutierres leads with 15 goals, while Flamengo 's Cristiane is third with nine . Neither of them scored in the first game, but they remain individual standouts.

Flamengo returns to the field this Sunday (17) to face Internacional , at Beira-Rio, for the 20th round of the Brazilian Championship. Rubro-Negro seeks to maintain the leadership of Serie A after beating Mirassol 2-1, at Maracanã, while Colorado tries to get going after the 3-1 victory over Red Bull Bragantino.

Flamengo sits atop the table with 40 points, while Internacional sits in 11th place with 24 points. Recent head-to-head records also favor the leaders: in the last five rounds, Filipe Luís's team has four wins and one draw , compared to three wins, one draw, and one loss for the Gauchos.

WHERE TO WATCH AND TIME

The match will be broadcast exclusively on Premiere , Grupo Globo's pay-per-view service, available with a monthly or annual subscription. The match, which marks the first leg of the Brasileirão 's second half, will be played at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Beira-Rio Stadium in Porto Alegre.

PROBABLE LINEUPS

INTERNATIONAL: Rochet; Benítez, Vitão (Clayton Sampaio), Victor Gabriel (Juninho) and Bernabei; Richard, Alan Rodríguez (Bruno Henrique), Vitinho, Bruno Tabata and Gustavo Prado; Borré (Ricardo Mathias). Coach: Roger Machado

FLAMENGO: Rossi; Varela, Leo Ortiz (Danilo), Leo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Allan, Saul, Arrascaeta (Carrascal); Everton Cebolinha, Luiz Araujo and Pedro. Coach: Filipe Luis

SHORTAGES AND DOUBTS

• Internacional: Carbonero and Mercado remain out. Alan Patrick, Aguirre, and Thiago Maia are expected to be rested.
• Flamengo: Erick Pulgar (broken foot) and Emerson Royal (sprained ankle) are confirmed out. Danilo and De La Cruz are still doubtful.

Friday (15) was marked by a press conference with Arrascaeta, at Ninho do Urubu. The Uruguayan midfielder made strong statements about the club's backstage and even repeated a famous phrase from Jorge Jesus, the Portuguese coach who marked an era at Flamengo.

Arrascaeta quotes Jorge Jesus: "Flamengo only loses to itself"

CRITICISM OF DESPERATE PROFESSIONALS

Without directly mentioning the coach, Arrascaeta emphasized that internal problems often harm the club's atmosphere . The Uruguayan also made it clear that he will always stand by his teammates in situations where unprepared professionals could harm them:

"I often tell my friends that Flamengo only loses to itself, because it's difficult to explain some of the things that happen here. Sometimes it's due to a lack of capacity from people who don't realize the size of the club or who aren't used to dealing with this pressure . But when you have experienced and respected players like Alex Sandro, Bruno, Nico, Viña, and so many others, the group becomes stronger," said the number 10.

"Whatever happens outside won't affect our squad. We'll always be together. When something happens to a teammate, we'll be here to help," Arrascaeta assured. The statement alludes to the controversy surrounding former doctor José Luiz Runco, who was fired after exposing details of De La Cruz's physical condition , claiming the Uruguayan was living with an irreversible chronic injury.

SUPPORT FOR DE LA CRUZ

At the time, Arrascaeta posted a photo alongside De La Cruz, accompanied by the message: " It's about taking care of our own. It's that simple ." The gesture was interpreted as a dig at the former professional, as well as a pat on the back for his club and national team friend.

Now, at the press conference, the number 10 reinforced the importance of squad unity in the face of external turbulence: "Regardless of who it is, Nico or another player, we have to be together. It's very difficult to stay focused on the field when these situations happen. But I've been here for six years and I know that Flamengo always experiences moments like this. Our role is to keep ourselves in the locker room so that this doesn't affect us, even though some situations are very difficult," he concluded.