FLAMENGO'S NIGERIAN PROMISE CELEBRATES DEBUT WITH VICTORY AT LIBERTADORES U-20

This Saturday morning (7), Flamengo faced Nova Iguaçu and won 2-0, in the first game of the quarter-finals of the Carioca U20. The team led by Filipe Luís opened a good lead for the second leg. The goals of the match were scored by Guilherme and Wallace Yan.

In the qualifying phase, Mais Querido, despite sharing the spotlight with the Brasileirão under-20 and preparing for the World Cup, had a good campaign. Rubro-Negro advanced in second place, with 26 points from 11 games. Winning eight matches, drawing two and losing only once.

Mixing the team between the main team and the reserves during the competition, the team also had alternation between coaches. This is because Rafael Bahia led Rubro-Negro in the Carioca under-20 and Filipe Luís led the team in the Brasileirão and World Cup in the category.

Now, Mais Querido returns to the field next Saturday (14), in the return match of the quarter-finals of the Carioca under-20. By having a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard, Rubro-Negro can lose by up to a goal difference and will advance to the semi-finals. The game will be at 9:30 am, in Gávea.

Nigerian striker Elija Shola renewed his residence visa, guaranteeing his stay in Brazil for another five years. The renewal of the permission was requested by Flamengo to the Federal Government. Furthermore, the player signed a new contract with the club, which is now valid until the end of 2027.

Although Shola has not yet debuted for Flamengo's professional team, he was listed for the classic against Flamengo. Botafogo, which ended with a 4-1 defeat at the Nilton Santos stadium. The striker was one of the highlights of Flamengo's under-20 team, which won the Libertadores and Intercontinental in the category.

Last month, Flamengo reached an agreement with Remo Stars, Shola's former club , purchasing 70% of the athlete's economic rights for 450 thousand dollars. The 19-year-old Nigerian has been on loan at Flamengo since April 2023. His last residence visa was valid for six months and expired in September 2024.

Shola was first scouted during the Viareggio Cup 2022, traditional grassroots tournament held in the Tuscany region, in Italy. He stood out as one of the main figures of his team, helping them reach the final of the tournament. Following this observation, Flamengo sent a scout to Nigeria to evaluate him again, confirming his signing shortly afterwards.

Speculated as a possible reinforcement of Flamengo to fill the gap left by Pedro, striker Anthony Martial is free on the market, but has not played since December 9, 2023. On that occasion, Manchester United, his former club, entered the field to face Bournemouth and lost 3-0 in the Premier League. Martial was a starter and played for 56 minutes.

At the beginning of the year, the French striker suffered a groin injury that required surgery. Therefore, he was away for around 42 days, only returning in March. Even though there were three months left on his contract, Manchester United chose to let go of the player. Since then, Martial has been evaluating his next club and Flamengo is paying attention to his movements.