Under-15s: Rafael Nascimento hails Ceará's progress: We led the way | OneFootball

Gabriel Silva / Ceará SC

Ceará reached the semifinals of the Under-15 Copa do Brasil by coming from behind to beat Atlético-GO 2-1 at Granja Comary, in Teresópolis (RJ), this Tuesday, the 28th. After the match, head coach Rafael Nascimento celebrated the historic achievement secured by Vozão in the first edition of the national competition and commented on the team’s performance.

"First, I want to thank God for the opportunity to experience this competition in the cradle of Brazilian football. I also want to thank the president for his presence, as he has supported the youth academy every day. He was here supporting us, encouraging us. That is very important for the players’ development process. As for the match, Ceará tried to play the entire time. That is what we foster every day at Cidade Vozão. We conceded a goal early in the game, partly due to a lack of concentration and the boys’ natural nerves from being in an environment like this for the first time, experiencing a competition of this level. But at no point did we give up what we believe in. We controlled the main actions of the game, we were the protagonists, and thank God, we managed to come from behind. We will have the privilege of playing in the Copa do Brasil semifinals," said Rafael Nascimento.

Now, Ceará will face Internacional-RS next. The match will take place on Thursday, the 30th, at 10 a.m. (Brasília time), at Granja Comary. The team from Rio Grande do Sul reached the semifinals after defeating Vitória-BA 3-0.

So far, Alvinegro de Porangabuçu has played five matches and earned five victories. The team has scored 22 goals and conceded only one. The team’s top scorer in the competition is forward Ravi, with six goals, but he is recovering from an injury and will miss the final stage of the tournament.

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