Corinthians Women hold commanding edge over São Paulo in knockout ties | OneFootball

Corinthians and São Paulo begin deciding the 2026 Brazilian Women’s Championship this Saturday (26), at 4:30 p.m. (Brasília time), at Neo Química Arena, with a favorable record for the Brabas in knockout clashes. Before this new final, the rivals had already faced each other in nine knockout ties since 2019, and Timão advanced or won the title in seven of them. Tricolor came out on top on the other two occasions.

This year’s showdown will therefore be the tenth knockout meeting between the teams. In the previous nine, 16 Majestosos were played, with ten Corinthians wins, three draws, and three São Paulo victories. The Brabas also hold the edge in goals scored: they have found the net 28 times and conceded 14.

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel / Agência Corinthians

In addition to their superiority in the overall knockout record, Corinthians also hold the advantage when considering only title-deciding matchups. Before the 2026 Brasileirão final, the rivals had contested five trophies against each other, with four won by the black-and-white side and one by São Paulo.

Corinthians built their edge in state finals

The first knockout tie between the teams came in a final. In 2019, Corinthians and São Paulo contested the Women’s Paulista Championship title, and the Brabas won both matches. After making it 1-0 in the first Majestoso, Timão won the return leg 3-0 and closed the final with a 4-0 aggregate score.

Two years later, the rivals met again to contest the state title. This time, São Paulo struck first by winning the first leg 1-0. Corinthians, however, overturned the deficit in the second meeting with a 3-1 victory and once again lifted the Paulista trophy.

The third state final between the clubs took place in 2023 and also featured a black-and-white comeback. São Paulo won the first leg 2-1, but the Brabas responded with a 4-1 rout in the second match. With that, Corinthians closed the tie 5-3 on aggregate and lifted yet another trophy against their rival.

The 2024 Brasileirão ended with Brabas dominance

The first national title contested directly between Corinthians and São Paulo came in the 2024 Brazilian Women’s Championship. The Brabas built an important advantage in the first leg, when they won 3-1 away from home.

In the return leg, in front of 44,529 fans at Neo Química Arena, Corinthians sealed the title by defeating their rival once again, this time 2-0. The result made it 5-1 on aggregate and secured the sixth Brazilian title in the club’s black-and-white history.

The clubs met again in the knockout stage of that season’s Paulista Championship. In the semifinal, Corinthians won 1-0 away from home and drew 1-1 in the return match, advancing to the state final with a 2-1 aggregate score.

As a result, by the end of 2024, the Brabas had come out on top in all five knockout clashes played against São Paulo.

São Paulo earned their first qualifications in 2025

The black-and-white streak was snapped in the 2025 Women’s Supercopa. In a final played as a single match, Corinthians and São Paulo drew 0-0 in regular time. On penalties, the rival won 4-3 and claimed the title.

Months later, the clubs faced each other again in a knockout competition, this time in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Copa do Brasil. The format once again featured only one match, and São Paulo won 3-1. So far, these are the only two knockout ties in which the rival managed to get the better of the Brabas.

Even so, Corinthians also had the upper hand in two other knockout meetings played during 2025. In the Brazilian Championship, the Brabas beat São Paulo 2-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinals and drew the return leg 2-2, securing qualification with a 4-2 aggregate score.

The last knockout tie between the rivals before the current final came in the 2025 Paulista. In the semifinal, Corinthians won both matches by the same score, 2-1, and advanced with a 4-2 aggregate.

In this way, of the four knockout ties played between Corinthians and São Paulo in 2025, each team came out on top twice. That year’s balance, however, was not enough to erase the advantage built by the Brabas in the overall history.

The new final will be the sixth between Corinthians and São Paulo

The 2026 Brasileirão final marks the sixth time Corinthians and São Paulo will directly contest a title in women’s football. In the previous five, the Brabas won the 2019, 2021, and 2023 Paulistas, as well as the 2024 Brazilian Championship. The only trophy won by the rival in a final against Timão was the 2025 Women’s Supercopa.

The first chapter of the new final takes place this Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Neo Química Arena. The return leg is scheduled for October 3, at the same time, at MorumBIS.

São Paulo will host the second match because they finished the first phase of the Brazilian Championship ahead of Corinthians. Thus, the Brabas begin in Itaquera their pursuit of the eighth national title in their history while also trying to extend a record that currently gives the black-and-white side the edge in seven of the nine knockout ties played between the rivals.

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