Brazil won’t defend its Olympic males’s soccer title in Paris after dropping 1-0 to its regional rival Argentina on Sunday.
In the decisive South American Olympic qualifier, Luciano Gondou scored the winner for the Argentina under-23 crew coached by Javier Mascherano. He headed a cross from Valentin Barco previous goalkeeper Mycael within the 78th minute on the Brigido Iriarte Stadium in Caracas.
Brazil gained gold at males’s soccer within the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics.
South America’s Olympic qualifying for males’s soccer supplied two spots in Paris, the place the lads’s match begins July 24. Paraguay ended on the highest of the desk of the ultimate group stage with seven factors in three matches after its 2-0 win on Sunday towards host Venezuela.
The Paraguayan crew, which did not have star gamers like its two larger continental rivals, additionally beat Brazil to safe its spot for France.
Argentina completed the match with 5 factors, two greater than Brazil, which solely managed to beat Venezuela within the remaining stage.
Argentina had the higher hand within the first half however the defensive stance of Brazil, coached by Ramon Menezes, didn’t assist convey a lot emotion to the match. World Cup winner Thiago Almada hit the submit within the sixteenth minute.
Argentina’s Leandro Brey made the very best save of the sport within the 61st, when substitute Gabriel Pec struck onerous from shut vary. Brazil didn’t sustain the strain, with striker Endrick as soon as extra enjoying under par. And then Gondou’s header made the distinction between the 2 groups.
“We deserved this. We didn’t lose a single match at the qualifying,” said Gondou, who scored four goals in the tournament in Venezuela. “We suffered, we waited for this goal, but at the end we got it.”
Brazil last failed to make the men’s soccer Olympic tournament in 2004.
“It is a very bad feeling, we prepared well for this,” Brazil midfielder Andrey Santos mentioned. “We struggled to keep the ball throughout the tournament. It didn’t go as we expected.”
Argentina gained the gold at males’s soccer on the video games in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, with Lionel Messi main the crew in Beijing.
Paraguay’s stunning spot in Paris got here after Diego Gómez scored from the spot early within the second half and Marcelo Pérez pushed the ball together with his head to an empty aim within the seventy fifth minute after a weird mistake of the Venezuelan protection.
Paraguay’s males’s soccer crew has given the small South American nation considered one of its few medals in Olympic historical past; a silver in 2004 after dropping the ultimate towards Argentina.
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
