Atlético Mineiro U17

Atlético Mineiro's under-17s went out on penalties to Atlético Paranaense in the 2026 Copa do Brasil Sub-17 final, finishing the competition as runners-up.

The defeat came a year after the same age group had won the Brasileiro Sub-17 in remarkable fashion. Grêmio took the first leg of the 2025 final 4-1, a scoreline that appeared to have settled the title. Atlético Mineiro won the return leg 3-0, forced a penalty shootout, and converted it 4-2 to lift the trophy.

It was not the group's first national title. In 2014, the under-17s beat Grêmio 2-1 to win the Copa do Brasil Sub-17. The squad trains away from the senior side's Arena MRV, at the Cidade do Galo academy complex in Vespasiano, outside Belo Horizonte, the city where the club was founded in 1908 and still carries the nickname Galo.

The academy's older graduates explain why results at this level draw attention beyond the age group itself. Reinaldo, the club's all-time leading scorer with 255 goals, came through it, as did the midfielder Toninho Cerezo and Gilberto Silva, both of whom went to World Cups with Brazil, and the goalkeeper Cláudio Taffarel. Bremer, now at Juventus, is a more recent product of the same pathway.

Kauã Soares leads the current squad's scoring, with 22 goals.