Flamengo 2-1 Olympiacos: Substitutes strike late to clinch Under-20 Intercontinental Cup 2024 at Maracanã

Flamengo won the 2024 Under-20 Intercontinental Cup at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro after substitutes Caio Garcia and Felipe Teresa scored to beat Olympiacos 2-1 with a late turnaround.

The 2023/24 UEFA Youth League winners went ahead early in the second half through Argiris Liatsikouras but Caio Garcia levelled and with a penalty shoot-out looming, Felipe Teresa won it in added time. The CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub-20 holders follow 2023 U20 Intercontinental Cup champions Boca Juniors, and Benfica, who won the initial 2022 edition.

Match in brief : Flamengo leave it late

There were three changes for Olympiacos from the 3-0 defeat of AC Milan in April that gave them the UEFA Youth League crown in Nyon as a trio now out on loan, goalkeeper Angelos Sina, right-back Konstantinos Kostoulas and midfielder Thanasis Koutsogoulas, were replaced by Nikolaos Botis, Antonis Dama and Liatsikouras respectively.

A goalscorer in that Nyon final, Antonios Papakanellos, gave the 31,237 crowd an early scare as he snuck in to pick up the ball inside the box but Flamengo goalkeeper Dyogo Alves blocked from a tight angle.

Matheus Gonçalves, taking the Flamengo No10 shirt with star man Lorran promoted to the seniors for their Copa Libertadores match in Bolivia on Thursday, slotted in as the attacking focus for the home side, and following one mazy dribble shot over, not long after Guilherme Gomes had been denied by Botis, who also kept out a Wallace Yan header.

It was a tight game between two evenly-matched teamsCONMEBOL

Dyogo Alves was once more called into action as Papakanellos again threatened after the home defence lost the ball, the rebound put wide by Stavros Pnevmonidis, soon after going close with an other opportunist effort. Charalampos Kostoulas, wearing a blue head bandage after an early cut, then tested Dyogo Alves with a cheeky back-heel, but as the first half wore on Flamengo began to have a bit more of the ball as they began to get to grips with the Olympiacos high press.

However Olympiacos, who won the UEFA Youth League final with three second-half goals, took the lead not long after the break when Kostoulas flicked on a Nektarios Alafakis cross and then pounced himself for a blocked shot which fell for Liatsikouras to confidently poke in.

Caio Garcia celebrates with fellow goalscorer Felipe TeresaCONMEBOL

Flamengo coach Filipe Luís now rang the changes and one of those substitutes, Caio Garcia, delighted the Maracanã in the 73rd minute as he struck home the rebound after Wallace Yan's shot was parried by Botis.

With two minutes left it seemed Olympiacos might snatch victory as Pnevmonidis rose to meet a Christos Mouzakitis free-kick but his header rebounded away off the crossbar. Instead, it was Flamengo who were celebrating when Jean Carlos found Wallace Yan in the box and although a defender intervened to block, Felipe Teresa was on hand to begin the party in the Maracanã.

Reaction

Nikolaos Botis, Olympiacos goalkeeper: "First of all I want to say I am proud of this team. Nothing can beat this feeling that we had, even with all the Flamengo fans we really showed a great spirit.

"I don't think the result is deserved but it doesn't matter, Flamengo are the champions, congratulations to them. But I know what we deserved as a team, I know what Olympiacos deserve, these guys deserve a lot more than today."

Matheus Gonçalves, Flamengo forward: "We've worked hard since we were young. Everyone thinks it's easy, but we work hard, we're away from our family. We love playing football. It's very rewarding to win with them.

"The fans have supported us a lot since we were young, they came here and encouraged us a lot. Everything is beautiful here, as if it were a professional game."

Felipe Teresa, Flamengo goalscorer: "I'm very happy to score at Maraca, it's the first time I've played here. I'd like to thank the people who looked after me during the time I was injured. I have to thank the red-black nation!"

Line-ups

Flamengo: Dyogo Alves; Daniel Sales (Da Mata 86), Iago, João Victor, Ze Welinton (Jean Carlos 61); João Alves (Caio Garcia 61), Rayan Lucas, Guilherme Gomes (Felipe Teresa 65); Matheus Gonçalves, Wallace Yan, Shola Ogundana (Adriel 86)

Olympiacos: Botis; Dama, Koutsidis, Prekates; Liatsikouras, Bakoulas, Mouzakitis, Alafakis; Papakanellos, Pnevmonidis; Kostoulas