Flamengo will meet Benfica on Saturday at Estádio do Algarve in Portugal in a friendly for the Troféu do Algarve, with kickoff set for 15:30 Brasília time. The game lands as a clear marker in both clubs’ schedules: Flamengo’s interseason tune-up and Benfica’s first match since the end of the 2025/26 season.
For readers looking for the game now, the interest is simple. It is live on ge tv, sportv and Premiere, with ge also following it in Tempo Real. Benfica comes in after finishing third in the Campeonato Português, while Flamengo is trying to turn a mixed recent run into momentum after a draw with River Plate and a win over Lausanne-Sport. Earlier in the break, Flamengo had three wins, one draw and two losses across its last six matches, a reminder that this is less a showcase than a test.
The lineups point to that same idea. Flamengo is expected to have its maximum available squad, but the list is still incomplete: Léo Ortiz remains out with a thigh injury, and Ayrton Lucas is a doubt after feeling pain in the second friendly. If Lucas cannot go, Johnny is the likely alternative on the left, a detail that matters because Flamengo’s margin for error is already thin in a game that allows only three stoppages and unlimited substitutions within them. The rest of the projected side includes Rossi, Royal, João Victor, Vitão, Pulgar, Jorginho, Luiz Araújo, Bruno Henrique, Lino and Pedro, while the absences list also includes Plata, Arrascaeta, Varela, De la Cruz, Carrascal, Paquetá, Léo Pereira, Danilo and Alex Sandro.
Benfica’s side is also in motion under Marco Silva, who has taken over after José Mourinho returned to Real Madrid. Benfica’s preseason began on 26 de junho, and the new coach has a squad shaped by change, with Clément Lenglet among the additions and Otamendi gone to River Plate. The probable Benfica lineup includes Trubin, Alexander Bah, António Silva, Clément Lenglet, Samuel Dahl, Leandro Barreiro, Enzo Barrenechea, Rafa Silva, Georgiy Sudakov, Prestianni and Vangelis Pavlidis, though Dedic, Tomás Araújo, Richard Ríos, Aursnes, Schjelderup and Lukebákio are listed out because they are involved in the Copa do Mundo.
Flamengo are set to return to Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, then continue training at Ninho do Urubu before facing Olimpia in Brasília. That makes Saturday’s match more than a friendly in name only: it is the last clean look both staffs get before the next phase, and for Flamengo the unresolved question is whether Ayrton Lucas is ready to keep his place or whether the final rehearsal will end with Johnny taking it.
