Corinthians defender laments early Copa do Brasil exit | OneFootball

Corinthians hosted Internacional on Thursday night (6) at Neo Química Arena for the second leg of the 2026 Copa do Brasil round of 16 and, although they beat their opponents 2-1, they ended up saying goodbye to the national competition. In the first leg, played at Beira-Rio, the team from Rio Grande do Sul beat Timão 2-0 — 3-2 on aggregate.

Moments after the final whistle, still on the pitch, center-back Gustavo Henrique, who scored the first goal of the match late in the first half, spoke to Amazon Prime and analyzed Alvinegro’s elimination, saying that the team’s performance in the first leg ended up being decisive in the final outcome of the tie.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Corinthians Agency

“The first game was definitely very flat. We tried to create plays, but we couldn’t. We had too many people behind the ball and that ended up making it harder to create chances. This game was completely different. We had a first half looking for goals, putting pressure on the opponent. We managed to score twice, but unfortunately we conceded a goal,” he began.

He was then asked about the rest of the season. After this weekend’s match against Red Bull Bragantino, the club from Parque São Jorge will play the first leg of the Conmebol Libertadores round of 16 next Thursday (13), away from home, against Rosario Central-ARG.

“We have to keep going. I don’t think we can stop. We’ve been working very hard. I feel sad for our fans because of this elimination. We need them more than ever now. You can be sure that there’s a very hard-working group here that always gives its best. Unfortunately, the first game didn’t go the way we wanted. After that, trying to come back is a bit more complicated. Now we have to look ahead. Unfortunately, this one is behind us. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it, and now we move forward,” he concluded.

Signed at the start of 2024 after spells in Turkish and Spanish football, Gustavo Henrique quickly became one of the leaders of the Corinthians squad. That same year, he was part of the team’s surge in the Brasileirão (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores qualifying stage — seventh place with 56 points) and was a starter in the Paulista Championship (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026) title wins against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama, and Flamengo, respectively.

All in all, he has 11 goals and four assists in 109 matches (105 as a starter) wearing the Corinthians shirt, with 52 wins, 23 draws, and 34 losses — a 54.7% success rate. At the moment, the number 13 shirt is Timão’s second-highest scorer this year with five goals.

After hosting Internacional at Neo Química Arena in the second leg of the 2026 Copa do Brasil round of 16 and being eliminated, Corinthians now turns its focus back to the Brazilian Championship. That is because next Sunday (9), they will visit Red Bull Bragantino at Estádio Cícero de Souza Marques in Atibaia at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) for the 22nd round of the national competition. Alvinegro currently sits in ninth place with 29 points — seven wins, eight draws, and six losses — with 22 goals scored and 20 conceded.

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