Carioca clash today: Maricá v Sampaio Corrêa face off this Thursday | OneFootball

Maricá vs. Sampaio Corrêa takes place at 5:00 PM (Brasília time), at Estádio Municipal João Saldanha

With the group stage of the Campeonato Carioca concluded, which counts as the Taça Guanabara, the bottom two teams from each group (fifth and sixth place) have formed the relegation quadrangular. The competition will take place between February 11 and March 8.

This Thursday (12th), Maringá and Sampaio Corrêa face off at Estádio Municipal João Saldanha. The match kicks off at 5:00 PM (Brasília time), with broadcast on Cariocão TV (YouTube).

HOW WILL THE RELEGATION QUADRANGULAR WORK?

Nova Iguaçu, Maricá, Portuguesa-RJ, and Sampaio Corrêa-RJ finished at the bottom of their groups and, as a result, will compete in the relegation quadrangular in 2026. Thus, the four teams will play each other in home and away matches. At the end of the six rounds of Group X, the team in last place will be relegated to Série A2 of the State Championship, which is expected to start in April.

WHAT ABOUT FLAMENGO?

After a poor start to their campaign in the Campeonato Carioca, Flamengo reached the final round of the group stage at real risk of having to play in the relegation quadrangular. To avoid this scenario, the team needed to win and also hope for a combination of other results.

In the decisive round, the Rubro-Negro thrashed Sampaio Corrêa 7-1 and did their part. In addition, they benefited from Nova Iguaçu’s defeat to already eliminated Portuguesa, securing fourth place in Group B.

WHAT NOW?

Having qualified for the quarterfinals of the Carioca, Flamengo will face Botafogo in a single-elimination match for a spot in the semifinals. Thus, the classic takes place on Sunday (15th), at 5:30 PM (Brasília time), at Estádio Nilton Santos, with full coverage by Coluna do Fla.

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