Now only eight teams remain in the fight for the four spots in the 2026 Third Division.
After the qualifications of ASA, Goiatuba, Inter de Limeira, Cianorte and Barra, América de Natal, Maranhão and Santa Cruz were the teams that advanced this Sunday (24).
Santinha qualified with a victory on penalties after a tense duel in Piauí.
There were THREE saves from the hero Rokenedy, who had already made a difference in the first knockout – against Sergipe.
See what the decisive quarterfinals duels are in sequence.
Was 0 x 0 the only valid score?
After winning in Maranhão by 1 x 0, América de Natal drew 0 x 0 with Imperatriz at the Arena das Dunas. And it is in search of promotion – it last played the Third Division in 2023.
At the same time, Maranhão dispatched Central playing in Caruaru. It had won at home by 2 x 1 and held the scoreless draw.
The Poster Demolisher only secured its classification in the last round of the group stage to, later, eliminate two rivals considered favorites: Tuna Luso and, now, the Black and White of the Agreste.
Its last Series C was in 2026.
The last match of the decision Sunday was Altos x Santa Cruz, who dueled at Lindolfo Monteiro after the 1 x 1 at Arena Pernambuco.
The great move of regular time – which also ended without goals – happened at 34 minutes of the final stage.
Albert made a mistake, Renato was in great condition, but dug a penalty when he would face the goalkeeper Careca.
Essa decisão do Renato é inacreditável! O que eu não escrevi, eu pensei sobre o que ele foi aqui. Árbitro foi bem demais#SérieDnaSérieZpic.twitter.com/IRiBnyh2qK
— Revista Série Z (@revistaseriez) August 24, 2025
He got a yellow card for simulation after wasting a great chance for Santa Cruz, which no longer had the substituted Thiago Galhardo.
Rokenedy hero ONCE AGAIN
Renato who “redeemed” himself by opening Santa’s charges efficiently (0x1).
Altos’ number 10, Esquerdinha, was stopped by Rokenedy (0x1).
Geovany shot with quality to score the second for Tricolor (0x2).
Rokenedy shone again by saving Jonathan’s shot (0x2).
The sequence had João Pedro hitting the crossbar (0x2).
Digão scored the first for Altos (1×2).
Balotelli extended for Santinha (1×3).
Falling in the same left corner, Rokenedy caught Leandro Amorim’s shot (1×3) and qualified Santa Cruz.
The Coral Snake has not played in Series C since 2021.
Northeastern dominance 📊
There are four teams from the Northeast, two from the South, one from the Southeast and one from the Midwest still in the fight.
The crossings of the decisive quarterfinals phase were made based on the sum of the points accumulated since the group stage.
ASA – 41 points
Inter de Limeira – 36
Barra – 36 points
América de Natal – 35
Santa Cruz – 32
Cianorte – 30
Goiatuba – 29
Maranhão – 26
Quarterfinals duels 👇🏽
ASA 🆚 Maranhão
Inter de Limeira 🆚 Goiatuba
Barra 🆚 Cianorte
América de Natal 🆚 Santa Cruz
*Teams on the left decide at home
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.