📹 Flamengo hit the woodwork, draw group stage with Los Angeles
In Orlando, Flamengo drew 1-1 with Los Angeles FC this Tuesday (24), in the final match of the first phase of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Already qualified and with first place secured, coach Filipe Luís fielded a "mixed" team, giving most of the regular starters a rest.
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In this scenario, Flamengo did not display the "steamroller"—high-intensity football—they showed in their first two matches, against Espérance (2-0) and Chelsea (3-1).
Even so, in the first half, Flamengo hit the American team's post three times.
Early in the match, after a tight free kick, Danilo appeared at the far post and hit the post. On the rebound, Luiz Araújo struck hard, but the ball went too high.
Los Angeles responded with Delgado, who tried his luck from outside the box and hit Rossi's post.
In a very similar play, Arrascaeta tried a stylish shot, but the ball also hit the French goalkeeper's post.
Then, after a cross into the box, goalkeeper Lloris was injured in a collision and stayed down. The play continued, the ball remained "alive," and Pedro picked up the rebound to hit the crossbar.
Near the end of the first half, Marlon—a former Fluminense defender—found the net with a header, but the play was ruled out for offside.
After the break, the pace slowed, and Flamengo had more difficulty creating good chances.
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Even so, Arrascaeta unleashed a rocket from the edge of the box and hit the crossbar once again.
In the final minutes, after a quick free kick, Bouanga got behind the Flamengo defense and slotted the ball past Rossi to open the scoring.
But Flamengo didn't let it get to them and responded quickly, with an assist from Jorginho for a great goal by Wallace Yan, who dribbled past two defenders to enter the box before finishing.
🚦 What happens next
With this result, Flamengo finishes the first phase as leaders of Group D with seven points.
The group's second qualifier for the round of 16 is Chelsea, with six points, after defeating Espérance 3-0.
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Thus, next Saturday (28), the English club faces Benfica at 5 p.m. (Brasília time) in Charlotte.
Flamengo, meanwhile, will try to reach the quarterfinals by facing Bayern Munich on Sunday (29), at the same time, but in Miami.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
📸 PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA - AFP or licensors
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- New York Times
Cooper Flagg NBA Draft sweepstakes result a ‘fantastic feeling' for Rolando Blackman
As the Dallas Mavericks attempted to turn the page on a miserable season, they called on a franchise great for assistance. During his 11 years in Dallas, Rolando Blackman scored 16,643 points, more than any other Maverick besides Dirk Nowitzki. Rick Welts, who signed on as Mavericks CEO two months before Dallas made the Luka Dončić trade, asked Blackman if he would be the team's on-stage representative at the NBA Draft Lottery in May. Advertisement Welts cautioned Blackman that the Mavericks only had a 1.8 percent chance of winning the first pick. Blackman accepted anyway. Blackman arrived two hours early to the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, where the lottery was held, and nervously paced the room. When NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum finished announcing the results, Blackman celebrated with a double fist pump. He walked up to Tatum and hugged him, then pointed at Welts, who was seated in the crowd. 1.8% chance. #MFFL — Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 13, 2025 As he did that, Blackman noticed Cooper Flagg, the crown jewel of this year's class, sitting nearby. 'A time of renewal is what it is. For our organization, for our fans,' Blackman said. 'Really having the opportunity to live in a bastion of positivity for our future.' On Wednesday, the Mavericks officially will select Flagg with the No. 1 pick. Blackman, who was chosen eight spots behind fellow Mavericks great Mark Aguirre in the 1981 NBA Draft — the last time Dallas had the first selection — is well aware of how gifted Flagg, an 18-year-old forward from Newport, Maine, is on the court. 'The No. 1 player can actually play,' Blackman said. In his only college season, Flagg was noticeably productive, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. He led the country in box-plus minus, a popular catch-all metric, and became the first freshman male to win the Naismith College Player of the Year award since another former Duke star, Zion Williamson. Only five freshmen, men and women, have won the prestigious award: Flagg, Paige Bueckers (UConn, 2021), Williamson (2019), Anthony Davis (Kentucky, 2012) and Kevin Durant (Texas, 2007). Flagg did all of this after choosing to skip a year of high school. In August 2023, he reclassified to go to college a year early. He was 17 years old when Duke played its first 2024-25 game in November. Advertisement 'Just a fantastic feeling,' Blackman said about winning the Flagg sweepstakes. 'I wish I could bottle it. I don't know why scientists don't spend more time bottling that feeling and putting it on the shelves so people could have it twice a day.' The draft lottery results had been decided for roughly an hour before they were announced to the public. Matt Riccardi, the Mavericks assistant general manager, was the team's representative in the back room where the drawing actually took place. Out of 1,001 possible combinations, only 18 meant Dallas would move up to No. 1. One of the Mavericks' winning combinations was '10-14-11-7,' which came up. Riccardi brought a blue and yellow sticker of an owl as a totem. It was a nod to the 'Il Gufo' nickname his Italian friends gave him years earlier. On stage, however, Blackman didn't carry any good luck charms. He was armed only with positive vibes. 'No superstitions,' Blackman said. 'I grew up in Brooklyn, New York. I don't go through any superstitions. 'What we have to do as players — and to get to where I got to — you can't be getting into that superstitious stuff. You have to deal with the reality of what's in front of you and deal with it then and there. I can only control my spirit and evoke exactly what I want to evoke, which is, 'We're getting this.'' The Mavericks went 44 years between having the No. 1 pick. The 1981 draft helped set up the franchise for a near-decade of success. The Mavericks were a perennial playoff team, and in 1988, they reached the Western Conference finals for the first time. On Wednesday, Aguirre and Blackman both will attend a draft party the Mavericks are hosting at the American Airlines Center. As will Bueckers, the former UConn star the Dallas Wings took No. 1 in the WNBA Draft in April, and former Mavericks Josh Howard and Nick Van Exel. Advertisement After all the lows the Mavericks experienced from February until April — some self-inflicted and others bad luck — Blackman believes the time is right to celebrate. 'We were going through a little bit of a beating,' Blackman said. 'What the Mavericks went through also with the injuries and all the things that happened, it turns the whole car around. We get to ride on the road. We get to ride on the middle lanes and take up the middle lane.' (Photo of Matt Riccardi, Rick Welts and Rolando Blackman: Jeff Haynes / NBAE via Getty Images)
