Arrascaeta shines as Flamengo reach Intercontinental semi-final | OneFootball

Flamengo is in the semifinal of the Intercontinental Cup. This Wednesday, the Rubro-Negro overcame Mexico's Cruz Azul 2-1 at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan, Qatar, in the quarterfinals, dubbed the "Derby of the Americas." Arrascaeta was the hero of the match, scoring both goals for Flamengo. Jorge Sánchez scored for the Mexicans.

Competition Status

With the victory, the Brazilian team advanced in the competition. Now, Flamengo returns to the field this Saturday at 2 PM (Brasília time) to face Pyramids in the semifinal of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, in a match set for Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. The winner will face PSG in the grand final.

📋 Match Summary

🔴⚫ FLAMENGO 2 x 1 CRUZ AZUL 🔵🔴

🏆 Competition: Intercontinental Cup Semifinal 2025 – Derby of the Americas 🏟️ Location: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar 📅 Date: December 10, 2025 (Wednesday) ⏰ Time: 2 PM (Brasília time) 🟨 Yellow cards: Ditta and Gonzalo Piovi (Cruz Azul); Jorginho, Alex Sandro, Cebolinha, and De La Cruz (Flamengo) 🟥 Red cards: none

Refereeing Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden) Assistants: Mahbod Beigi (Sweden) and Andreas Söderkvist (Sweden) VAR: Fedayi San (Switzerland)

Goals ⚽ Arrascaeta, 14′ of the 1st half (Flamengo) ⚽ Jorge Sánchez, 43′ of the 1st half (Cruz Azul) ⚽ Arrascaeta, 26′ of the 2nd half (Flamengo)

Lineups

🔴⚫ FLAMENGO Rossi, Varela, Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira, and Alex Sandro; Pulgar (Saúl), Jorginho (De La Cruz), and Arrascaeta (Luiz Araújo); Carrascal (Everton Cebolinha), Bruno Henrique, and Samuel Lino (Plata) Coach: Filipe Luís

CRUZ AZUL 🔵🔴 Gudiño, Jorge Sánchez (Bogusz), Ditta, Piovi, and Érik Lira; Jeremy Márquez (Faravelli) and Carlos Rodríguez; Rivero (Omar Campos), Paradela (Luka Romero), and Rotondi (Sepúlveda); Gabriel Fernández Coach: Nicolás Larcamón

How was the game?

The match started with Cruz Azul more active in attack. But the best opportunity came at 12 minutes when Rotondi received a pass from Carlos Rodríguez and shot to the right of goalkeeper Rossi. Flamengo responded two minutes later, opening the scoring. Piovi made a mistake in play, and the ball fell to Arrascaeta, who was free, dribbled past goalkeeper Gudiño, and rolled it into the net.

Time passed with little depth from both sides. However, more active, Cruz Azul equalized at 43 minutes. After a defensive error by Flamengo, Jorge Sánchez shot first-time, bringing the game to a tie at halftime.

In the second half, both teams tried to dominate the offensive actions, but balance prevailed. At three minutes, Paradela took a corner, and Piovi headed wide. The response came two minutes later. Arrascaeta launched Bruno Henrique, who shot for a great save by the goalkeeper.

More efficient, Flamengo regained the lead at 26 minutes with Arrascaeta again. The Uruguayan attempted a pass to Bruno Henrique in the area, the ball returned to him, and he lobbed the goalkeeper. After that, the team from Rio managed the result, while Cruz Azul tried, unsuccessfully, to equalize. But Flamengo held on until the final whistle.

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