Internacional and Athletic Club face off this Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre for the second leg of the Copa do Brasil fifth round. The Colorado side enters with an advantage after a comeback 2-1 win in the first leg, held in Florianópolis, with goals from Bruno Henrique and Alexandro Bernabei after Kauan Rodrigues opened the scoring for the Esquadrão de Aço.
The scenario favors Internacional. Paulo Pezzolano’s team advances with a draw or victory, while Athletic needs to win by one goal to force penalties or by two to qualify directly—a tough mission given their five-match winless streak.
**Match Analysis**
Internacional arrives at Beira-Rio in a recovery phase after an inconsistent season stretch. The Colorado won the Recopa Gaúcha by beating Brasil de Pelotas 2-1 on May 6, and earlier defeated Fluminense 2-0 in the Brasileirão. However, last Saturday they let a victory slip against Coritiba, conceding a late 2-2 equalizer at Couto Pereira.
Their Campeonato Brasileiro campaign remains concerning. Pezzolano’s men sit 13th with 18 points from 15 rounds, far from the top spots and with no room for mistakes. In this context, the Copa do Brasil gains extra importance—both for the financial prize and the chance to keep alive the dream of winning its second title, last achieved in 1992.
Home form had been a hurdle for Inter earlier in the year. Before the Copa do Brasil started, the Colorado had won only once in seven matches at Beira-Rio. The convincing win over Fluminense helped improve the atmosphere, and a good crowd is expected for Tuesday’s decisive clash.
Athletic arrive under pressure from their winless streak in the Série B. The Esquadrão de Aço have gone five games without a victory, including a 1-1 draw with Vila Nova and a 0-0 draw against Cuiabá last Saturday in São João del-Rei. The team has 10 points from eight rounds, sitting 11th.
Despite that, their Copa do Brasil run is already historic for the Minas Gerais club. Athletic eliminated Rio Branco-ES, Ypiranga-RS, and Sport, including a 3-1 win in Recife in the fourth round—a result that gave national visibility to Alex de Souza’s squad. Now, however, the challenge at Beira-Rio requires an even higher level of performance to keep the qualification dream alive.
**Head-to-Head**
The history between Internacional and Athletic is extremely short. The first leg, played at Orlando Scarpelli Stadium in Florianópolis, marked the first official meeting between the two clubs in any competition. Before the fifth-round draw, Inter and Athletic had never faced off.
In that match, Athletic took the lead in the 15th minute after a Colorado buildup error, with Kauan Rodrigues dribbling past Anthoni to open the scoring. Internacional responded before halftime when Bruno Henrique combined with Alerrandro and equalized with a shot from outside the box. In the second half, Bernabei scored the winner and also hit the crossbar from another chance, securing the 2-1 advantage that the Colorado bring to Beira-Rio.
