Flamengo defeats Maricá 3-0 and secures place in U-20 State Championship

Flamengo secured their place in the Rio de Janeiro U-20 State Championship with a commanding 3-0 victory over Maricá on Saturday (17th) at CT George Helal, in the final round of the Taça Guanabara U-20 group stage. Rafael Henrique opened the scoring in the first half, with Victor Hugo adding two goals in the second period to seal the win.

The average age of Flamengo's squad in the match came to 18.4 years.

With the result, the academy side finished the group stage in third place with 27 points and confirmed their qualification for the knockout rounds of the State Championship.

How it unfolded

Flamengo began the contest seeking the victory to cap off their Taça Guanabara campaign. At 16 minutes of the first half, Rafinha capitalised on a rebound to fire past the goalkeeper and put the Rubro-Negro ahead.

Adriano Fontes / CRF

The striker had also scored in Thursday's (14th) first-leg clash against Criciúma in the Copa do Brasil U-20 round of 16.

In the second period, the youngsters extended their advantage at 24 minutes. Diego Reyes found Victor Hugo, who finished to make it 2-0.

Ten minutes later, the number 18 doubled his tally. After being fouled on the left flank, U-17 leading scorer João Vitor Couto whipped the ball into the box, and Victor Hugo tapped in to seal a 3-0 victory.

Adriano Fontes / CRF

With his brace, Victor Hugo reached nine goals for the season and sits second in Flamengo's 2026 scoring charts.

The State Championship will be contested in a two-legged knockout format, with pairings to be determined by the group stage standings. The Rio de Janeiro Football Federation will announce dates, kick-off times and matchups in due course.

Flamengo

Pedro Henrique Martins; Enzo Pinheiro, Arthur Andrades, Paulo César (Miguel Távora) and Gabriel Amâncio; Diego Reyes (03/09/2007) and Luiz Felipe (Rogério Araujo); Pablo Lúcio (Daniel Silva), Rafael Henrique (João Vitor Couto) and Andrew (Gustavo Ramires); Juliano (Victor Hugo).

Manager: Marcelo Salazar.

Maricá

Cadu; Jeremias Axel, Hyago, Kauã Araujo and Cauã; Rhenan and Thallis; Daniel Nascimento, Yan and Luis; PC.

Manager: Vicente de Paula.

Up next

The academy side return to action on Tuesday (20th) at 19:30 (Brasília time) to face Criciúma at Estádio Heriberto Hülse in the second leg of their Copa do Brasil U-20 round of 16 tie.

Match statistics

Flamengo 3 x 0 Maricá – Final round, Taça Guanabara U-20 2026

Venue: CT George Helal – Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Date and time: 17/10/2026, 15:00 (Brasília time)

Referee: Leandro Moura Martins Nicol (RJ), Arthur Queiroz da Rocha (RJ), Karolaynne da Conceição Martins Garcia (RJ) and Guilherme Mello Hiath (RJ).

Yellow cards: Luiz Felipe (FLA), Luís (MAR), Daniel Silva (FLA), Pedro Lucas (MAR), Daniel Nascimento (MAR) and Arthur Andrades (FLA).

Goals: Rafael Henrique (16' 1st H) and Victor Hugo (24' 2nd H, 35' 2nd H).