Corinthians keep Cruzeiro hoodoo in women’s Brasileirão | OneFootball

Throughout the night this Monday (7), Brazil’s Independence Day holiday, Corinthians hosted Cruzeiro at Estádio do Canindé for the second leg of the 2026 Brazilian Women’s Championship quarterfinals and beat the Minas Gerais side 3-1. The Brabas’ goals were scored by Jhonson, Tamires, and Thaís Ferreira. The result sent Alvinegro through to the tournament semifinals for the tenth straight time after a 4-1 aggregate win, and Bahia will be their next opponent.

In addition to advancing, the club from Parque São Jorge maintained its dominance over Cruzeiro in women’s football since the category was reactivated in 2016. Over the years, the two teams have faced each other 16 times, with 12 Corinthians wins, two draws, and two losses – 38 goals scored and 22 conceded.

Photo: Thaís Magalhães/Agência Corinthians

The first meeting between the teams in the sport took place on September 7, 2020. On that occasion, Corinthians thrashed the Minas Gerais side 4-1 at Estádio Alfredo Schürig, Fazendinha, in the first phase of that year’s Brazilian Women’s Championship. Gabi Zanotti, Cacau, Gabi Portilho, and Pâmela scored the Brabas’ goals.

As for Brazilian Women’s Championship matches, the Brabas have 10 wins, one draw, and two losses – 35 goals scored and 21 conceded. In the seven knockout clashes in the history of this matchup, the Brabas came out on top in all of them – see each one below.

Dominance also extends to knockout matches

The first knockout clash took place in 2023, in the quarterfinals of the Brazilian Women’s Championship. In the first leg, the Brabas won 2-1, with goals scored by Gabi Zanotti and Vic Albuquerque. In the second match, held at Fazendinha, Corinthians beat its rival 4-2, with goals from Tamires, Duda Sampaio, Vic Albuquerque, and Jheniffer. The result sent Timão to the semifinals with a 6-3 aggregate score.

In 2024, in the Women’s Super Cup final, the Brabas won 1-0, with a free-kick goal scored by midfielder Duda Sampaio. Last year, Corinthians and Cruzeiro faced each other in the Brazilian Women’s Championship final. In turn, in the semifinal of the same tournament, at Estádio Primeiro de Maio in São Bernardo do Campo, Corinthians won 1-0, with a goal scored by Vic Albuquerque.

Later, still in 2025, in the third round of the Copa do Brasil, the club from Parque São Jorge advanced on penalties, winning 4-2 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw in regular time. The match took place at Estádio Castor Cifuentes, in Nova Lima, Minas Gerais. The latest knockout meeting up to that point came in September last year, when the two teams met again, this time in the Brazilian Women’s Championship final.

In the first leg, held at Arena Independência, Alvinegro drew 2-2, with goals from right-back Gi Fernandes and attacking midfielder Gabi Zanotti. In the second match, at Neo Química Arena, Corinthians beat Raposa 1-0. The goal was scored by center-back Thaís Ferreira, securing Timão’s seventh title in the national competition – 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

In the 2026 season, in turn, the Brabas maintained their supremacy. In the first match, played last Monday (31) at Arena Independência, Corinthians won 1-0, with the goal scored by midfielder Vic Albuquerque. In the second match, played on the afternoon of this Monday (7), the club from Parque São Jorge beat Raposa 3-1.

Semifinal opponent; the teams met in the quarterfinals in 2025 + head-to-head record

In the coming hours, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is expected to announce the details of the two semifinal matches between Corinthians and Bahia. Having had the better campaign in the competition’s opening stage, Alvinegro will play the second leg at home. In the qualifying stage, Timão had the second-best campaign with 38 points, while the northeastern side qualified in sixth place with 29 points.

In the first phase of the tournament, Alvinegro faced the northeastern side away from home and drew 1-1. In the history of the sport, the teams have played six matches, with five wins and one draw, 17 goals scored and four conceded. Last year, the teams met in the Brasileirão quarterfinals, and Timão came out on top with a 4-1 aggregate score. Timão is the tournament’s most successful club with seven titles – 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Top scorer in the history of the matchup

Corinthians’ top scorer in the history of the matchup against Cruzeiro is midfielder Gabi Zanotti, who has eight goals in 12 matches. The number 10 has worn the Brabas shirt since April 2018 and, since then, has recorded 95 goals and 39 assists in 280 matches (226 as a starter), with 215 wins, 40 draws, and 25 losses – an 81.5% success rate. In addition, she has won 18 titles with the club across the Brazilian Championship, Conmebol Libertadores, Paulista Championship, and Copa Paulista.

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