FPF reveals Corinthians' group rivals in Paulista U20 Championship | OneFootball

The São Paulo Football Federation (FPF) announced, this Friday (17), the groups for the 2026 Paulista Under-20 Championship. As a result, Corinthians learned who their opponents will be. Soon, the order, dates, and kickoff times of the matches should be released by the federation. Alvinegro is in Group 1 alongside Santos, União Suzano, Ponte Preta, Ferroviária, Mirassol, Juventus, Portuguesa, EC São Bento, Jabaquara, América, Portuguesa Santista, Sertãozinho, and Itapirense.

The competition, which will feature 44 teams, is scheduled to begin on May 29 and end on November 28. In the first phase of the state tournament for the category, the teams are divided into three groups, two with 15 clubs and one with 14 — Corinthians’ group — following the criteria of last year’s tournament table.

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel/Agência Corinthians

At this stage, the top 10 teams from each group will advance, along with the two best 11th-placed teams. Meanwhile, the two clubs with the fewest points in each of the three groups — six teams in total — will be relegated to the state competition’s Under-20 Série A2. Starting from the 2029 season, four teams will be relegated and another four promoted.

From the second phase onward, already in a knockout format, the best overall campaign will face the worst among the qualified teams (32nd), and so on. If there is a tie on aggregate, the team advancing will be decided by penalty kicks. The later rounds — from the round of 16 to the final — will also be played over two legs. In 2025, Timãozinho bowed out of the tournament in the round of 16 after being beaten by Santos.

Before that, however, Corinthians remain focused on the Brazilian Under-20 Championship. At the moment, the Sons of Terrão sit in eighth place — the last spot that grants qualification to the knockout stage of the national tournament — with nine points — two wins, three draws, and one loss — 10 goals scored and five conceded. Timãozinho will return to the pitch next Wednesday (22), at 3 pm (Brasília time), to face Criciúma away from home in the seventh round of the first phase of the national competition.

See More:

Corinthians News

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.