By Louis Smith.
It was a night to remember for Corinthians fans as the side picked up their first Copa do Brasil title since 2009. With that, they ended the heartbreak of the 2018 and 2022 finals.
This was Corinthians’ fourth title, moving them level with bitter rivals Palmeiras on four. They now sit one behind Grêmio and Flamengo, and two behind Cruzeiro, who have won six Brazilian Cup titles, one more than anybody else.
In 2022, Corinthians took on Flamengo and suffered penalty shootout heartbreak. After a 0-0 draw at home in São Paulo and a 1-1 draw away at the Maracanã, the tie went to penalties, where Corinthians fell short.
This time around, a similar fate loomed, once again taking Corinthians to Rio de Janeiro, only now against Vasco da Gama. The first leg was played at their home, the Neo Química Arena, and finished goalless. Much like 2022, Corinthians would have been wary of history repeating itself as they returned to Rio de Janeiro with everything still to play for.
It was Corinthians who started the better of the two, with some nice work from Matheuzinho and the right-back finding Yuri Alberto, whose shot hit the side netting in the early stages. Not too long after, the same two linked up again as Matheuzinho played a fantastic ball over the top to Yuri Alberto, who brought it down well and finished past Léo Jardim to open the scoring.
Yuri Alberto then had another glorious chance to make it 2–0 and put Corinthians firmly in control. However, his one-on-one effort with Léo Jardim was not as clinical this time, as he fired the ball high over into the crowd, a poor effort from the Brazilian.
Robert Renan tested the gloves of Hugo Souza from a corner, but it was comfortably saved as Vasco registered their first effort on goal.
Then some neat footwork from Andrés Gómez saw him beat his defender before whipping in a beautiful ball that found Nuno Moreira perfectly. The forward headed past Souza to put Vasco back into the game, just before the brink of half-time.
In a cagey second half, it took a piece of magic from Corinthians to take the lead. Breno Biden showed great skill before bursting forward on a fantastic run, finding Matheuzinho, who then picked out Yuri Alberto. He played a lovely ball across to Memphis Depay, who etched his name into Corinthians folklore by finishing off a clinical counter-attack.
Despite a late onslaught from Vasco, Depay’s goal proved to be the decisive moment in the tie as Corinthians became Brazilian Cup champions once again.
The triumph was Corinthians’ second title of the season, having already won the Campeonato Paulista back in April.
Dorival Junior picked up his fourth Brazilian Cup title as manager, having won three of the last four Copa do Brasil titles at three different clubs: Flamengo (2022), São Paulo (2023), and now Corinthians (2025).
The Brazilian season now comes to a close, with teams set to return in January 2026 with a new schedule. The new calendar sees the top-flight league action running from January to December, rather than the usual April start, promising a more streamlined schedule for Brazilian football with the 2026 World Cup in mind.