Olympiacos initially led at Flamengo’s “Maracanã,” but the Brazilian side fought back and clinched a 2-1 victory with a last-minute goal, celebrating their triumph in the Intercontinental U20 Cup.
Both teams put on a thrilling display at the legendary stadium, with the young Olympiacos players under Sotiris Sylaidopoulos fighting hard but ultimately falling short at the end.
Olympiacos threatened first, with Papakanellos missing a huge chance from close range in the 6th minute, only for Alves to make an instinctive save.
Between the 16th and 25th minutes, both teams came close to scoring several times, with the goalkeepers emerging as key figures.
Botis made a crucial save on a Gomes shot in the 16th minute, followed by a curling effort from Wellington that went just over the bar.
Two minutes later, the Greek goalkeeper comfortably caught a header from Wallace at the penalty spot.
Olympiacos’s best chance in the first half came in the 20th minute when Papakanellos intercepted the ball and took a long-range shot, forcing Alves into a spectacular save. Pneumonidis followed up on the rebound but missed the target.
Pneumonidis was involved again in the next big chance for Olympiacos two minutes later, pressuring the opposing goalkeeper, with the ball narrowly missing the goal after a deflection.
Olympiacos’s pressure continued, with Papakanellos and Kostoulas combining before the center forward attempted a backheel shot that Alves saved to keep his goal intact in the 24th minute.
Wallace tested his shot from long distance in the 25th minute, but Botis leaped to make an impressive save. This was the last good chance of the first half as the pace of the game slowed afterward.
Olympiacos started the second half strongly and capitalized on their dominance in the 54th minute. After a prolonged attacking sequence and a Kostoulas effort to break the deadlock, the ball found Argyris Liatsikouras, who fired a superb volley to make it 1-0.
A prolonged attack in the 64th minute, featuring shots from Bakoulas and Papakanellos, yielded no result for Olympiacos, nor did a Dama shot three minutes later.
The substitutions made by Felipe Luis injected energy into the Brazilians, who managed to equalize in the 73rd minute through Gaio Garcia, who had just come on.
Wallace got behind the Olympiacos defense and was initially denied by Botis, but the Greek goalkeeper lost the ball after a mix-up with Prekates, allowing Garcia to score into an empty net.
Olympiacos came close to a second goal in the 88th minute, but Prekates saw his header crash against the crossbar.
A well-executed attack by Flamengo in stoppage time, with Teresa as the final recipient, was enough for the Brazilian side to score the final 2-1 goal in the 90+3′ minute and claim the world championship title!
Flamengo (Felipe Luis): Alves, Sales (86′ Da Mata), Iago, Victor, Wellington (61′ Carlos), Alves (61′ Garcia), Lucas, Gomes (65′ Teresa), Gonçalves, Wallace, Ogunlana (86′ Andriel).
Olympiacos (Sotiris Sylaidopoulos): Botis, Alafakis, Liatsikouras, Koutsidis, Prekates, Dama, Mouzakitis, Bakoulas, Papakanellos, Pneumonidis, Kostoulas.
