Ceará faces Atlético-MG on Wednesday, August 13, at 9:30 p.m. at Arena Castelão with its season in the Copa do Brasil hanging on 90 minutes and possibly penalties. The return leg of the fifth phase leaves Ceará needing a win by two goals to reach the round of 16 in regulation time, while a one-goal victory would send the tie to a shootout.

Juan Alano set the tone before the match at a press conference in the Sala de Imprensa Sérgio Pinheiro, saying Ceará cannot look ahead to the weekend because Wednesday’s game is decisive. He said the club cannot pace itself for what comes next because the team is facing a match that must be treated like a final, with a place in the round of 16 and a valuable financial boost on the line.

Alano’s message was less about tactics than urgency. He said the team has a chance to overturn the score and qualify in front of its own supporters, but only if the crowd turns Castelão into the kind of pressure cooker the players need. His appeal to the fans was direct: Ceará will need everyone together, because this is the kind of moment that cannot be solved alone.

The game matters beyond the bracket because advancing would put Ceará into the round of 16, and the club is treating that step as both sporting progress and a financial prize. That mix explains the tone of the build-up: this is not being framed as a routine league date, but as a match that can shape the club’s near-term picture in one night.

There is still a hard edge to the task. Ceará does not control a simple win-and-move-on scenario; it needs two goals in regulation to settle the tie without drama, and even a narrow victory would only delay the decision to penalties. A related note around the fixture is that Everson stood out in the shootout and secured Atlético’s qualification in the Copa do Brasil.

Interview excerpts from Alano’s press conference are available on the Vozão TV YouTube channel.