“Could England turn into Flamengo?”: Globo host's odd cup preview | OneFootball

Marcelo Barreto, a SporTV presenter from Grupo Globo, recalled an old joke about Flamengo’s title drought

In the years leading up to Flamengo’s back-to-back continental titles, presenter Marcelo Barreto used to joke that the Rubro-Negro was the “England of the Libertadores.” After all, Mengão had only one title and always went in as one of the favorites, just like the British in the World Cup.

World champions in 1966, England are once again being seen as contenders in the World Cup. However, while Flamengo took off in the Libertadores and are now four-time champions, will Harry Kane’s team follow the same path? Marcelo Barreto brought up the subject again during SporTV’s programming on Grupo Globo.

“Let’s ask that question that comes up every World Cup: will England do it? Will England become the Flamengo of the World Cups, now that Flamengo is no longer the England of the World Cups?”, Marcelo Barreto said.

WHAT WERE THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FLAMENGO?

England are one of world football’s powerhouses, but they have only one World Cup title on their résumé. Since 1966, the ‘English Team’ have never reached another final. At most, they made it to two semifinals, in 1990 and 2018. Despite that underwhelming record, the team enters the competition as one of the favorites, with star striker Harry Kane as its main standout.

As for Flamengo, champions of the 1981 Libertadores, the club piled up embarrassments in the tournament. For several years, the Most Beloved did not even qualify for the competition. On top of that, when they did secure a spot, they were often knocked out in the first round, including some humiliating exits.

However, after 2019, everything changed. Flamengo are now four-time Libertadores champions, the Brazilian club with the most trophies, and are three away from matching Independiente’s (ARG) feat as the ‘king of the Libertadores,’ with seven. So, will England manage to ‘flamengo’?

WHEN DO ENGLAND PLAY?

England will take their first step toward a second World Cup title this Wednesday (17), against Croatia, starting at 5 p.m. (Brasília time). The match will take place at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, United States.

The clash is part of Group L, which also includes Ghana and Panama. Those two teams, in fact, also make their World Cup debuts this Wednesday (17), at 8 p.m. (Brasília time). The ball will roll at Toronto Field Stadium in Canada. So, will England cruise through, like Flamengo in 2026, or crash out in the first round, like Mengão in 2014? Leave your predictions in the comments.

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