São Paulo in Copinha semi at Morumbi, key player out, midfielder move | OneFootball

São Paulo continues its momentum in pursuit of the Copinha championship, after eliminating Botafogo 3-1 and advancing to the semifinals of the country's main youth competition, where they will face the surprise team Ibrachina this Thursday (22nd) at 9:30 PM (Brasília time). And the Tricolor obtained authorization from the Paulista Federation to play the match at home, in Morumbi.

According to the club's announcement this Tuesday (20th), information about tickets for the semifinal will be released soon. It's a chance for fans to attend two consecutive days at their stadium, as the main team will host Portuguesa for the Paulistão on Wednesday (21st).

The Tricolor's unbeaten campaign in the Copinha helped confirm the semi at Morumbi. Allan Barcellos' team remains unbeaten in the competition, with six wins and one draw against Bragantino, which ended in a victory in the penalty shootout.

São Paulo is the current Copinha champion and is seeking its sixth title in the under-20 tournament. The team has already won the competition in 1993, 2000, 2010, 2019, and 2025.

NOTABLE ABSENCE

One of the highlights of the Tricolor in the youth tournament is midfielder Matheus Ferreira, who has already won over the fans with his grit and warrior spirit on the field, always interacting with the stands, or even provoking rivals.

And that's why the young player was sent off in the thrilling victory over Botafogo this Monday (19th). Already booked in the 1st half, Matheus received a second yellow card at the end of the match and was sent off for over-celebrating the third Tricolor goal, ‘blowing kisses provocatively towards the opposing bench, specifically to Botafogo's goalkeeping coach, Mr. Fabio Noronha de Oliveira’, as stated in the match report.

Thus, he is suspended for the clash against Ibrachina at Morumbi for the semifinal, but will return to the team if they advance to the grand final, which traditionally takes place next Sunday, January 25th, the anniversary of the city of São Paulo.

The other spot in the Copinha final will be decided by the winner of the match between Grêmio and Cruzeiro, who face each other this Wednesday at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) in Taubaté.

STAR PURCHASE

Matheus Ferreira's midfield partner, Djhordney is another revelation performing very well in the competition, even scoring another goal in the quarterfinals against Botafogo.

He is on loan from Grêmio Novorizontino, but will be permanently bought by the Tricolor for R$1 million, as initially reported by UOL.

Djhordney has been one of the standout players for the Cotia team, with two goals scored in this knockout stage. Besides scoring against Bota, he also netted in the match against Portuguesa. Thus, São Paulo wasted no time and accelerated the signing of the young player.

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