A painful ending for Olympiakos in the Intercontinental U20 final, with Flamengo scoring in stoppage time to win 2-1 and claim the title. Liatsikouras gave the European champions the lead in the 54th minute, and they hit the crossbar in the 88th.
A shock for Olympiakos at Maracanã. Although Sylaidopoulos’s team led in the second half, they ultimately succumbed to a last-minute goal, losing 2-1 as Flamengo was crowned world champions. The Reds even came close to scoring in the 88th minute when Prekates hit the crossbar.
Liatsikouras gave the lead to the Piraeus team in the 54th minute, finishing close range after the ball fell to him following a clearance by the Brazilians during Kostoulas’s double effort.
However, Flamengo found an equalizer in the 73rd minute with Vinicius taking advantage of a mix-up between Boti and Prekates to level the game.
The Brazilians managed to turn the game around in the third minute of stoppage time, claiming the title with a goal from Teresa that dashed Olympiakos’s dreams.
THE MATCH
The young players from Piraeus started well and tried to apply high pressure on the Brazilians. The first good chance actually belonged to Sylaidopoulos’s team when, in the 6th minute, Papakanellos shot from inside the small area, but Alves parried it away. Flamengo took control and threatened Boti’s goal twice in a three-minute span. First, in the 16th minute, with a shot from Guillerme on the left, and then in the 18th minute, with a header from Wallace, but the Greek keeper was up to the task.
The Reds came close to scoring in the 20th minute when Papakanellos unleashed a left-footed shot from outside the box and Alves saved it unsteadily, giving Pneumonidis a chance to score from close range, but he couldn’t find the target.
Three minutes later, it was Kostoulas’s turn to threaten, even trying a backheel after Papakanellos’s cross from the right, but Alves had the answer. Following that, Boti denied Wallace’s attempt in the 25th minute.
Papakanellos was clearly the standout for the Reds in the first half, being the driving force for Sylaidopoulos’s team and constantly troubling Flamengo’s defense.
The Piraeus team was not affected by the pressure Flamengo exerted at the start of the second half and were fortunate enough to take the lead at Maracanã! In the 54th minute, Kostoulas attempted twice inside the box to send the ball into the net without success, but it fell to Liatsikouras, who finished from close range to give the European champions the advantage.
However, Flamengo equalized in the 73rd minute. Prekates and Boti got tangled up after the former saved Wallace’s shot, and Vinicius took the opportunity to send the ball into the net for 1-1.
Olympiakos came close to making it 2-1 in the 88th minute with Prekates hitting the crossbar with a header following a free kick from Kou Tsidis on the left.
Just when it seemed that the final would go to penalties, Teresa sent the ball into Boti’s net in the 90’+2′, gifting the title to Flamengo.
- FLAMENGO: Alves, Sales (86′ Da Mata), Iago, Victor, Wellington (61′ Carlos), Alves (61′ Vinicius), Lucas, Guillerme (65′ Teresa), Gonsalves, Wallace, Ugundana (86′ Andriel)
- OLYMPIAKOS: Boti, Alafakis, Koutsidis, Liatsikouras, Prekates, Dama, Mouzakitis, Bakoulas, Pneumonidis, Papakanellos, Kostoulas.