Sporting Cristal continues to advance steadily in the Half of the World Cup. Picture ‘sky blue’ achieved its qualification to the grand final of the youth competition, after winning this Thursday, June 13, in an exciting game against none other than Fluminense. After that, the Peruvian representative will have the opportunity to compete for the title this weekend.
The under 18 team led by Renzo Revoredo (former figure of the club) faced a complicated challenge at the Chubb Arena stadium, in Ecuador, against a top rival. The youth team of the current Copa Libertadores champion put them in trouble on more than one occasion, but the team ‘brewer’ He knew how to succeed once again.
Cristal knew how to get ahead on the scoreboard with a great goal from Gabriel Soto, which he defined perfectly in the Fluminense goal. However, before halftime of the contest, the ‘Flu’ They turned the score around: they went to the locker room with a one-goal lead (2-1).
Already in the second half, Revoredo made a good rethink from the bench and Cristal again took the lead. Mateo Rodríguezson of ‘Dumb’ Alberto Rodríguez continued his scoring streak and quickly equalized things so that later Fabrizio Baylon and Matias Martinez are responsible for widening the difference. Fluminense achieved the discount with a goal in the final minutes, but could not avoid being defeated 4-3.
The Rímac team effusively celebrated their qualification to the final of the 2024 Half World Cup, while the Fluminense players were left lamenting on the field. After that, this Sunday, June 30, the ‘celestial’ They will fight for the title of the under-18 championship against Atlético Nacional of Colombia.
It is worth mentioning that this tournament is organized by Valley Independent on an annual basis. The Ecuadorian club invites teams from various countries in the region, in the youth category, which allows each one to test the future promises of this sport. In this edition, Universitario de Deportes and Alianza Lima also appeared, but they did not advance from the first round.
Sporting Cristal He has played an excellent role since the beginning of the championship in Ecuador. In the group stage, they shared a series with Fluminense, Catholic University and Atlético Huila and reached second place with five points, the product of a victory (against the Brazilians 3-2) and two draws to one.
In the quarterfinals they faced the host, Independiente del Valle, and eliminated them after achieving a valuable victory on penalties. In regulation time, that match had ended tied 2-2 with a double from Mateo Rodríguez, and in the definition from the 12 steps, the team ‘rimense’ won 4-3. The rest is history: they beat Fluminense to reach the final of the tournament.
Undoubtedly, Mateo Rodríguez -son of ‘Dumb’– is one of the most prominent figures in this Sporting Cristal youth team. The 17-year-old forward leads the scoring charts of the 2024 Half World Cup with a total of five goals, which have allowed his team to reach the final stage. Now, he seeks to stay on a roll for the duel against Atlético Nacional and lift the trophy.
“They are a complicated team, they are in the final for a reason, but we are prepared for everything (…) Our strength is staying united, since we are a family. We give everything until the last”, were the statements of the promising attacker ‘brewer’ at the end of the semifinal against Fluminense.
