Corinthians visit Joinville in Liga Nacional de Futsal opener | OneFootball

Corinthians visit Joinville on Saturday night (28) at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Centreventos Cau Hanses, in Santa Catarina, for the opening round of the 2026 Liga Nacional de Futsal (LNF). Two-time champions of the national competition (2016 and 2022), Alvinegro were finalists in the last edition of the tournament, but ended up as runners-up after losing to Jaraguá in the final.

At the start of the year, Corinthians went on a tour to Japan, where they played two friendlies, and also competed in the Supercopa Gramado de Futsal — they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Atlântico de Erechim in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw in regular time. Compared to last year, the 2026 edition of the LNF will feature 16 teams instead of 24. The bottom two teams will be relegated to LNF Silver, the competition’s second division created for this year.

Photo: Evander Portilho/Agência Corinthians

The team that finishes the first stage in 14th place will play a playoff against the third-place team in LNF Silver, and the winner will secure a spot in the 2027 Liga Nacional de Futsal. In total, the national competition will be divided into five stages: qualifying stage, round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and final.

The top four teams advance directly to the quarterfinals, while those placed from 5th to 12th will play in the round of 16. All knockout matches will be played over two legs. In the event of a tie across the two matches or one win for each side, there will be extra time after the end of the second match, consisting of two five-minute periods. If the tie remains after extra time, the team with the better record in the qualifying stage will advance.

Probable Corinthians lineup

Coach Fernando Malafaia is expected to send out the following team: Lucas Oliveira; Lucas Martins, Maicon, Renatinho and Fabinho.

Corinthians Futsal 2026 squad

Goalkeepers: Lucas Oliveira, Kelvin and João Vitor Koji;Defenders: Caio Barros, Lucas Martins and João Vitor Da Bonja;Wingers: Maicon, Vandinho, Renatinho, Lucas Morales, Igor Bredof, Kevin William and Fellype Bancatelli;Pivots: Rick, Fabinho and Nícolas Alves.

Tournament tiebreaker criteria

1) Highest number of wins in all matches of the stage;2) Best goal difference in all matches of the stage;3) Highest number of goals scored in all matches of the stage;4) Lowest number of goals conceded in all matches of the stage;5) Lowest number of red cards received in all matches of the stage;6) Lowest number of yellow cards received in all matches of the stage;7) Draw

Broadcast

Corinthians fans who want to follow the match will be able to watch it exclusively and for free on LNFTV, the competition’s official YouTube channel. After the final buzzer, Central do Timão will bring a summary of what happened in the match.

Next match

After facing Joinville away from home in their Liga Nacional opener, Corinthians will remain focused on the competition. Next Friday (3), at 8:30 p.m. (Brasília time), Alvinegro will take on Magnus Futsal at Ginásio Wlamir Marques in a derby for the second round of the national tournament.

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