Flamengo 2-2 Barcelona (6-5 on penalties): Hosts retain Under-20 Intercontinental Cup 2025 at Maracanã

Flamengo sealed back-to-back Under-20 Intercontinental Cup 2025 titles at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro after defeating Barcelona 6-5 on penalties following a dramatic 2-2 draw in normal time.

Match in brief: Flamengo go back-to-back

Almost a year to the day after they defeated Olympiacos at the Maracanã for their maiden Under-20 Intercontinental Cup title, Flamengo returned to their home stadium to do the same again on penalties against Barça.

In front of a fervent, record-breaking crowd of 45,656 spectators in Rio, it was the holders who started on the front foot, with the Brazilian side taking the lead after 11 minutes.

Midfielder Lorran started and finished the move, first winning the ball and sliding in Matheus Goncalves before reacting quickest to thrash home from close range after his team-mate had been dispossessed.

Flamengo celebrate their late equaliser

Barcelona came agonisingly close to equalising on the stroke of half-time, with Jan Virgili's effort from just outside the box cannoning off the post and away from danger.

After the break, substitute Shola Ogundana almost created a second goal for the hosts, cutting the ball back to Joshua, whose effort was well saved by Barça goalkeeper Eder Aller.

Flamengo had already received a warning from Virgili, and on 71 minutes the forward made no mistake, the 19-year-old scoring a stunning equaliser after beating two men and calmly finishing to momentarily silence the majority inside the stadium.

Both sides had chances to win it in normal time, with Barcelona's Shane Kluivert enjoying the best of the opportunities, only for Léo Nannetti to spread himself wide and save well.

It was a highly competitive contest at the Maracanã

But just as it looked as if the game was heading to penalties, it became the tale of two captains. First, Barça skipper Álvaro Cortes headed in from a corner to seemingly win it for his team. But just moments later, Flamengo's Iago sent a looping header over Aller to spark delirium in the Maracanã and force a shoot-out.

With both sides missing a penalty each, it went to sudden death, and after Léo Nannetti guessed correctly and dived to his right to deny Marcos Parriego, Carbone was the hero for Flamengo as he buried his effort down the middle to ensure it would be another memorable night for his team.

Reaction

Léo Nannetti, Flamengo goalkeeper: "I don't have the words to describe it! We played to our strengths, we won, and I can't describe my happiness. We always believed, we always felt it was possible, and we managed to win it."

Álvaro Cortes, Barcelona captain: "We played a good game and this is not what we deserved, but this is football and we'll learn from the experience. I'm proud of how we competed until the end, but congratulations to Flamengo. This will make us better players."

Line-ups

Flamengo: Léo Nannetti; Daniel Sales, João Victor, Iago, Gusttavo (Carbone 57); João Alves (Fabiano 78), Guilherme (Pablo Lúcio 64); Lorran, Matheus Goncalves, Joshua (Felipe Teresa 78); Pedro Leão (Ogundana 57)

Barcelona: Aller; Epsart, Cuenca, Cortes, Farré (Oduro 90+4); Pedro Rodriguez (Marques 46), Fariñas (Parriego 88), Junyent (Kluivert 46); Virgili, Gistau (Sama Nomoko 79), Hernández