Author: Atrakhov S.
The draw for the quarter-finals of the Betano do Brasil Cup took place at the CBF headquarters in Rio and featured the following pairs:
América MG – Corinthians
São Paulo – Palmeirasa
Gremio-Bahia
Flamenco – Atlético Paranaense
The matches will take place in the first half of July (days 5 and 12). The winners of the stage will each receive 9 million reais. It’s worth noting that of the eight teams that have qualified for the quarter-finals, five have won the Cup before.
América MG – Corinthians – 10% – 90%
Both teams have had a poor start to the season, having settled into the relegation zone after nine games. Perhaps the good performance in the World Cup is compensation for the fans. The duo’s favorite is obviously the team from São Paulo. Corinthians have won the trophy three times (1995, 2002, 2009) and reached the final four times (2001, 2008, 2018 and 2022). In addition, in the final of the last World Cup, the club was eight minutes away from victory, but conceded to Flamengo (1-1), and Mateusz Vital and Fagner failed to score in the penalty shootout. But if the former has already gone to Cruzeiro, Fagner will surely try to make up for his mistake.
It’s worth noting that América are playing at the same time in the Copa Sudamericana, where they’ve all but lost their chance of leaving the group, and Corinthians have lost their chance of reaching the last eight of the Copa Libertadores, but could still reach the last 16 of the Copa Sudamericana.
São Paulo – Palmeiras – 25% – 75%
The outcome of the derby between the two São Paulo teams is hard to predict. But perhaps the Palmeiras have a slightly better chance of reaching the 1/2. Why?
- Palmeiras are confident of second place in the league, while the tricolores are only eighth, in mid-table.
- In the last tie, they exchanged wins at home in 1/8 and Palmeiras lost on penalties. A good opportunity for a rematch.
- São Paulo have only reached the final of the Copa do Brasil once in their history, in 2000, losing to Cruzeiro (0:0, 1:2). Palmeiras, apart from losing the 1996 final, have won the trophy four times (1998, 2012, 2015 and 2020).
- The second leg of the quarter-final will be played at Allianz Parque, which favors the hosts.
In the Copa Libertadores, Palmeiras have already reached the last eight, while São Paulo have qualified for the last 16 of the Copa Sudamericana.
Bahia – Grêmio – 15% – 85%
This season, the teams are playing exclusively in domestic competitions, which means they’ll be tuned in as much as possible to win the Cup. The clear favorite of this duo is Gremio. Judge for yourself. The Porto Alegre lads are performing confidently in the league and are in the top three, while Baia are teetering near the relegation zone. To be honest, getting the players from Salvador to the quarter-finals is already a great achievement. It’s worth remembering that Grêmio have reached the final of the Copa do Brasil nine times. They lost four times (1991, 1993, 1995, 2020) and won the trophy five times (1989, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2016)
Flamengo – Atlético Paranaense – 55% – 45%
In 1/8 of the Cup, current trophy holders Flamenguista comfortably eliminated Fluminense (0-0, 2-0), but Atlético could have been eliminated if Botafogo had executed the penalties better (3:2, 0:1, penalties 4:2).
Perhaps this is the most interesting pair of 1/4. By the way, in the last draw they also faced each other in this phase. Flamengo ended up being stronger (0:0, 1:0), eventually winning the Cup itself for the fourth time in their history (1990, 2006, 2013, 2022). The team has also played in the final four times, in 1997, 2003, 2004 and 2017. Atlético’s achievement is more modest, but it should be noted that, in recent years, the team has had a lot of success in the Cup – a win in 2019 and three finals (2013 2021 2022).
It’s worth remembering that in the current championship, the clubs are doing well (5th and 7th place respectively). In the Copa Libertadores, Atlético have already reached 1/8, and Flamenco still have a chance.