Vasco to play Copa do Brasil semi at Nilton Santos after Flamengo say no | OneFootball

The Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation (Ferj) has set the official schedule and venues for the semifinals of the Carioca Championship. The details of the decisive matches were revealed this past Wednesday (18th). Vasco will begin its fight for a spot in the grand final by playing the classic match against the strong Fluminense. The first leg will take place this Sunday (22nd), starting at 6 PM, with the home advantage belonging to the cross-maltese team.

However, the anticipated duel will not be held at the grand Maracanã, as the Nilton Santos stadium was chosen to host the initial match. This change of venue has a clear reason: Flamengo will also play on Sunday for the regional tournament, facing Madureira at 8:30 PM. The federation proposed that the red-black team play on Monday night to free up the city's main stadium for Vasco.

However, Flamengo's management did not accept the change in schedule, forcing the clubs to play at Botafogo's home.

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Decision Rules and Lack of Advantage

The second decisive classic will take place on the first day of March, with Fluminense taking the coveted home advantage at Maracanã. The return match will start at 6 PM, and the current competition regulations have completely eliminated the old advantage of a draw in the championship.

Therefore, any tie in the aggregate score will lead to the finalist being decided directly through a dramatic and unpredictable penalty shootout.

Vasco and Fluminense face each other again in a semifinal – Photo: Lucas Merçon/Fluminense

The Other Finalist and the Millionaire Prize

The second spot in the grand final will come from the clash between Flamengo and Madureira, whose return match will officially close the semifinal phase. This encounter will take place on Monday night (2nd), starting at 9 PM, again on the Maracanã pitch.

The grand final is scheduled for March 8th, in a single match that will also take place at Maraca. The exact time of the decisive match still awaits official confirmation from the organizers of the traditional regional tournament.

The new Carioca champion will earn an excellent prize of R$ 10 million, an amount that will greatly help with the season's finances for any of the clubs.

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