De La Cruz stuns for Flamengo at altitude, 'turns a corner' under Jardim | OneFootball

What is happening with Flamengo midfielder De La Cruz at the start of the 2026 season?

By: Rodrigo Lima

De La Cruz is enjoying an encouraging start to the season with Flamengo. That is because, in addition to putting together a consistent run of appearances, the Uruguayan also played at altitude in the Rubro-Negro’s Libertadores opener, a situation in which the player had always shown considerable difficulty.

Flamengo’s debut in the Libertadores came against Cusco (PER), at an altitude of 3,400 meters. With some absences in midfield, coach Leonardo Jardim named De La Cruz in the starting lineup.

Even with all of Flamengo’s difficulties related to the thin air, De La Cruz had no issues whatsoever, something that even positively surprised the club’s medical and physiology departments.

It is important to point out that this was progress for De La Cruz, since the player had previously missed Flamengo matches for that reason. Besides altitude, the midfielder has also been unavailable for the Rubro-Negro in matches played on synthetic pitches.

HOW DID DE LA CRUZ PERFORM IN FLAMENGO VS CUSCO?

Uruguayan midfielder De La Cruz partnered Evertton Araújo as a holding midfielder duo. Turning in a solid display, the No. 18 played almost the entire match, coming off only in the closing minutes for Léo Ortiz. In Peru, Flamengo beat Cusco 2-0.

WHAT IS DE LA CRUZ’S CURRENT SITUATION AT FLAMENGO?

After this positive response, De La Cruz has managed to ‘turn the page’ and hope for better days at Flamengo. That is because, since arriving at the club, the player has been unable to put together a consistent run due to several injuries. So far, the Uruguayan has played 11 matches in 2026, scoring one goal.

WHAT IS FLAMENGO’S NEXT MATCH?

With De La Cruz available, Flamengo will face Independiente Medellín (COL) in the second round of the Libertadores group stage. Kickoff is at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) at the Maracanã.

In short, Coluna do Fla TV, as usual, will bring all the details of the match with on-site coverage from Leo José and Rock Hudson on YouTube, as well as on the website and social media. Finally, ESPN (pay TV) and Disney+ (streaming) will broadcast the match.

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