While the first Barcelona team was in action against Levante on Saturday, the U19s faced Flamengo in the U20 Intercontinental Cup. And unfortunately for the La Masia stars, they fell in a painful defeat of the penalty shoot-out in Rio de Janeiro.
More than 45,000 were present in the Maracana, with the vast majority that supports Flamengo. And it was the Brazilian side that first struck, with Lorran found the back of the net after just 11 minutes.
Barcelona was almost an hour behind, but at 71 minutes they got the equalizer – and it was a special one. The ball was played on Jan Virgili on the right wing, and he cut into two players before he ended up in the back of the Flamengo -network, what a goal was that Lamine Yamal would have been proud of.
And deep in the stop time, Barcelona thought they had won it when defender Alvaro Cortes a header along the Flamengo -goalkeeper, sparkling wild scenes under the traveling contingent from Catalonia. But unfortunately the hosts on the other hand went to score a late, late equalizer thanks to Iago Teodoro.
It meant that a penalty shoot-out was needed to determine the winner of the U20 Intercontinental Cup 2025, and unfortunately they just arrived for Barcelona. Flamengo won the spot kicks 6-5, which means that they have retained the title that was won last year.
It was a difficult moment for Barcelona that qualified for the game after winning the UEFA Youth League last season. The side of Juliano Beletti was without people like Jofre Torrents, Guille Fernandez, Dro, Toni Fernandez and wounded Ibrahim Diarra, so all the things that have been seen was a very impressive representation.
Barcelona has never won the U20 Intercontinental Cup, which was introduced in 2022. They wait, but given the talent in La Masia it would be no surprise if they still have a chance of success in the coming years.