COPINHA SEMIFINAL: FIND OUT ABOUT FLAMENGO'S OPPONENT, LOCATION OF THE MATCH AND DATE OF THE DECISIVE GAME OF THE CRIAS

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.

Flamengo always keeps an eye on the market in search of strengthening and capturing talent for the youth categories. Thus, after the end of the Copa Rio U-15, Rubro-Negro signed Rafa Tenório, Resende's number 10.

After observing Rafa Tenório's performance in the Copa Rio, Flamengo acted quickly and signed the athlete. According to Coluna do Fla, the midfielder signed a three-year contract with Mengão, that is, until 2027. The 15-year-old athlete has already started activities with the Fla squad this Wednesday (03), at CT Ninho do Urubu.

Rafa was one of the main players in the Copa Rio U15. The midfielder scored ten goals and, with that, became the tournament's second top scorer. It is important to emphasize that the athlete reached this mark even with Resende only playing in the first phase of the championship.

Rafa Tenório is 15 years old and is a resident of Volta Redonda. And it was precisely on the team in the city where he lives that the athlete began to take his first steps in football. With good performances for the team from the south of the state of Rio de Janeiro, the midfielder caught Flamengo's attention.

First of all, this will be Rafa Tenório's second stint in the Rubro-Negro youth categories . After that, the young man transferred to Fluminense and, finally, arrived at Resende, where he was the team's number 10 during the Copa Rio U-15.