Atlético drew 0–0 with Cruzeiro on Wednesday (21) at Arena MRV in the first leg of the 2026 Brazilian Under-17 Championship semifinal. In a derby with chances for both teams, goalkeeper Guilherme Pires was one of the standouts for the young Galo side, making important saves throughout the match.
The result leaves the battle for a place in the final wide open. The decisive match will take place next Saturday (24) at 3 p.m. at Arena do Jacaré in Sete Lagoas. A win will send Atlético through. Another draw will take the tie to a penalty shootout.
The reigning Brazilian champions at this age level, Galo are looking to reach their second consecutive final and stay in contention for back-to-back national titles.
🐓 The match
The derby got off to a lively start at Arena MRV. Atlético relied on some fine work from Guilherme Pires, who made important saves to deny the opposition.
In the 19th minute of the first half, Atlético's defense stepped up again at a crucial moment. After a shot from inside the six-yard box, Alexsandro cleared the ball off the line, preventing the opening goal.
The young Galo side looked to respond in attack, mainly through Gabriel Veneno and set pieces, but neither team scored before halftime.
For the second half, coach Rafael Paiva brought on Ricardo Filipe in place of João Guilherme.
In the 58th minute, the coach made three more changes, bringing on Vieira, Barros and Pedrinho for Alexsandro, Lukaku and Gabriel Veneno, respectively.
In the closing stages, João Heleno and Moisés Caetano also came on, replacing Callegario and Gomide.
Atlético stayed organized defensively and relied on Guilherme Pires' assured goalkeeping to finish the first leg of the semifinal with a clean sheet.
The 0–0 draw leaves a place in the final to be decided in the second leg.
🏆 Chasing back-to-back titles
Atlético reached the Brazilian Under-17 Championship semifinal after knocking out Palmeiras in the quarterfinals.
In the first leg at Arena MRV, the young Galo side won 3–0. In the return leg in Barueri, Vinicius Rodrigues scored for Atlético to secure qualification with a 4–3 aggregate score.
The result put Atlético among the top four clubs in the national competition for the second year running.
In 2025, Galo won the Brazilian Under-17 title by beating Grêmio in a final decided on penalties.
Now, Rafael Paiva's team are looking to advance once more and keep their hopes of back-to-back titles alive.
📅 Next match
Atlético return to action on Saturday (24) at 3 p.m. against Cruzeiro at Arena do Jacaré in Sete Lagoas, in the second leg of the Brazilian Under-17 Championship semifinal.
After the goalless draw at Arena MRV, Galo need a win to reach the final. Another draw will see the tie decided on penalties.
The match will be broadcast on SporTV.
📋 Match details
Atlético 0–0 Cruzeiro
🏆 Competition: Brazilian Under-17 Championship – Semifinal (first leg) 📅 Date: October 21, 2026 (Wednesday) 🏟️ Venue: Arena MRV – Belo Horizonte (MG)
🐓 Atlético: Guilherme Pires; Samuel Rodrigues, Ícaro, Dylan and Alexsandro (Vieira); Callegario (João Heleno), Lukaku (Barros), Gomide (Moisés Caetano), Riquelme and Gabriel Veneno (Pedrinho); João Guilherme (Ricardo Filipe).
Coach: Rafael Paiva.
Cruzeiro: Diogo; Otávio Gabriel, Luiz Índio, Bryan and Júlio Damique (Mesquita); Caique Santos, Eduardo Pape, Miguel (Wozniak), Ronald (Deivid) and Hugo Ferreira (Dudu); Thaylon (Isaque Barros).
Coach: Wendel.
🟨 Yellow cards: Callegario and Dylan (Atlético); Bryan and Miguel (Cruzeiro). Follow GALO on social media: @atletico and @galonabase
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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.