Spain and Brazil entered this year’s Olympic men’s soccer competition as the pretournament favorites, and things have played out as predicted: The two global soccer stalwarts — here sporting rosters mainly filled with younger players — will meet in Saturday morning’s championship game. Here’s a look at what to expect.
How they got here:
Brazil finished atop Group D, defeating Germany and Saudi Arabia and playing to a scoreless draw with Ivory Coast. It then defeated Egypt, 1-0, in the quarterfinals before getting past Mexico on penalty kicks in the semifinals.
Spain defeated Australian and drew with Egypt and Argentina to win Group C. It then defeated Ivory Coast, 5-2, in the quarterfinals before knocking out host Japan with a 1-0 win in the semifinals.
Spain, the gold medalist in 1992 and twice a silver medalist, has needed a decent helping of late-game heroics to get to this point. Things looked bleak for La Rojita in the quarterfinals when Max-Alain Gradel scored in the first minute of second-half injury time to give Ivory Coast a 2-1 lead, but Rafa Mir evened things up two minutes later and then scored two more goals in extra time in a deceptively hard 5-2 win. In the semifinals against the host nation, things were scoreless until the 115th minute, when Marco Asensio curled in a shot to beat Japan, 1-0.
Asensio, who plays professionally for Real Madrid, is one of three permitted players over the age of 24 on Spain’s roster (the Olympic men’s tournament is primarily an under-23 competition), joining midfielder Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad) and captain Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid), who turns 25 on Saturday. Ceballos suffered an ankle injury in the opener against Egypt and hasn’t played since, but he reportedly will be healthy enough to play against Brazil.
Spain is coming with its maximum force,” Brazil Coach Andre Jardine said. “They’ve formed a strong team over the course of the tournament.
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Spain and Brazil entered this year’s Olympic men’s soccer competition as the pretournament favorites, and things have played out as predicted: The two global soccer stalwarts — here sporting rosters mainly filled with younger players — will meet in Saturday morning’s championship game. Here’s a look at what to expect.
How they got here: Brazil finished atop Group D, defeating Germany and Saudi Arabia and playing to a scoreless draw with Ivory Coast. It then defeated Egypt, 1-0, in the quarterfinals before getting past Mexico on penalty kicks in the semifinals.
Spain defeated Australian and drew with Egypt and Argentina to win Group C. It then defeated Ivory Coast, 5-2, in the quarterfinals before knocking out host Japan with a 1-0 win in the semifinals.
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Spain, the gold medalist in 1992 and twice a silver medalist, has needed a decent helping of late-game heroics to get to this point. Things looked bleak for La Rojita in the quarterfinals when Max-Alain Gradel scored in the first minute of second-half injury time to give Ivory Coast a 2-1 lead, but Rafa Mir evened things up two minutes later and then scored two more goals in extra time in a deceptively hard 5-2 win. In the semifinals against the host nation, things were scoreless until the 115th minute, when Marco Asensio curled in a shot to beat Japan, 1-0.
Asensio, who plays professionally for Real Madrid, is one of three permitted players over the age of 24 on Spain’s roster (the Olympic men’s tournament is primarily an under-23 competition), joining midfielder Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad) and captain Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid), who turns 25 on Saturday. Ceballos suffered an ankle injury in the opener against Egypt and hasn’t played since, but he reportedly will be healthy enough to play against Brazil.
“Spain is coming with its maximum force,” Brazil Coach Andre Jardine said. “They’ve formed a strong team over the course of the tournament.”
Brazil is the defending Olympic gold medalist, having won the tournament five years ago on its home soil with a win over Germany in penalty kicks, and it will now play in the final for a record fifth time. Defender Dani Alves, the most decorated player in soccer history with 43 trophies, looks to end his storied career with an Olympic gold medal as one of Brazil’s overage players, joining goalkeeper Santos and defender Diego Carlos.
Richarlison has been Brazil’s motor, however, with a tournament-high five goals. It’s been a busy summer for the 24-year-old Everton forward, as he also featured on the Brazilian team that was Copa America runner-up.
Take away the five goals it scored against Ivory Coast and Spain has scored only three other times, which might spell trouble against a Brazilian team that has three shutouts in five Olympic games, including both its knockout-round matches.
Source:(Washington Post)