Barcelona fall agonisingly short as Flamengo win U20 Intercontinental Cup

While the Barcelona first team were in action against Levante on Saturday, the u19s faced off against Flamengo in the U20 Intercontinental Cup. And unfortunately for the La Masia stars, they fell to an agonising penalty shoot-out defeat in Rio de Janeiro.

Over 45,000 were in attendance at the Maracana, with the vast majority supporting Flamengo. And it was the Brazilian side that struck first, with Lorran finding the back of the net after only 11 minutes.

Barcelona trailed for almost an hour, but on 71 minutes, they got the equaliser – and it was a special one. The ball was played to Jan Virgili on the right wing, and he cut inside two players before finishing into the back of the Flamengo net, in what was a goal that Lamine Yamal would have been proud of.

Look at those moments from Jan Virgili; bro almost broke opponents’ ankles.

He can be the breakthrough star of the year if given chances. pic.twitter.com/VgIemUwA8D

— Adithya Reddy (fan) (@AdithyaReddy_20) August 24, 2025

And deep into stoppage time, Barcelona thought they had won it when defender Alvaro Cortes bulleted a header past the Flamengo goalkeeper, sparkling wild scenes among the travelling contingent from Catalonia. But unfortunately, the hosts went right up the other end to score a late, late equaliser courtesy of Iago Teodoro.

Alvaro Cortes had scored in the dying minutes to make it 1-2 assist by Marcos Parriego.pic.twitter.com/gAP16DVFwb

— ArsenKveFCB (@ArsenKveFCB) August 23, 2025

Penalty heartbreak for Barcelona’s U19s

It meant that a penalty shoot-out was needed to determine the winner of the 2025 U20 Intercontinental Cup, and unfortunately for Barcelona, they fell just short. Flamengo won 6-5 after the spot-kicks, meaning that they retained the title won last year.

It was a tough moment for Barcelona, who qualified for the match after winning last season’s UEFA Youth League. Juliano Beletti’s side were without the likes of Jofre Torrents, Guille Fernandez, Dro, Toni Fernandez and injured Ibrahim Diarra, so all things considering, it was a very impressive display.

Barcelona have never won the U20 Intercontinental Cup, which was introduced in 2022. They wait goes on, but given the talent in La Masia, it would be no surprise if they got another chance at success in the coming years.