Fortaleza thrashed Altos-PI 5-0 on Sunday night (21) and advanced to the semifinal of the Copa do Nordeste. The result at the Arena Castelão, in Fortaleza, takes the club to face, as visitors, Sport for a place in the final. Previously qualified, Bahia and CRB will decide the other finalist of the competition, with Bahia having home-field advantage.
At home, Fortaleza counted on the support of their fans and scored four times in the first half. At 28 minutes, Marinho opened the scoring from the penalty spot. Kervin extended the lead at 36 minutes, Moisés added another at 42 minutes, and Kervin, once again, scored the fourth in injury time. In the second half, Yago Pikachu scored the fifth goal for the Tricolor cearense.
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Semifinals scenario
In the battle of the Leões, Fortaleza and Sport have two and three titles, respectively. Leão do Pici, champions in 2019 and 2022, will maintain the good performance of Ceará football, which has had a representative fighting for the title since 2019 – Ceará reached the final in 2020, 2021, and 2023. Meanwhile, Leão da Ilha do Retiro, winners in 1994, 2000, and 2014, can reach their eighth final. Besides the seasons in which they were crowned champions, they also fought for the title in 2001, 2017, 2022, and 2023.
Among the semifinalist teams, only CRB has not yet lifted the Copa dos Clássicos trophy. The Alagoas team can return to the final for the first time since 1994 when they were defeated by Sport. The task will not be easy, as their opponent, Bahia, can become the tournament’s most successful team, with five titles, if they win it this season, surpassing the four-time champion and their rival, Vitória.
The CBF Competitions Directorate will soon release the detailed schedule for the Copa do Nordeste semifinals, including the dates, venues, and match times.
Zagallo documentary
Sambafoot Series has launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo’ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays – as a player and as a coach. The first and second episodes is available in Sambafoot’s Youtube channel and the series will receive weekly releases to tell this legend’s life story.
