Brazil and Spain managed to book their place in the finals of Tokyo Olympics mens’ football after defeating Mexico and Japan respectively.
Brazil 0 – 0 Mexico ( 4 – 1 on penalties)
2016 Olympic Gold medal winners Brazil have progressed to the finals after defeating Mexico through penalties.
La Selecao had complete control of the game for the larger periods; however they failed to break the deadlock and hence saw their fate decided on penalties.
Veteran defender Dani Alves took the first penalty in the shootout while Gabriel Martinelli and Bruno Guimares followed him up by finding the nets precisely.
Elsewhere, the Mexicans failed to hold their nerves as they scored only one from the shootout as Brazilian goalkeeper Santos emerged as the hero.
It would be a massive achievement for Brazilian skipper Alves, who has already added a plethora of titles to his cabinet, if he manages to inspire his side to the Gold medal.
Brazil coach Andre Jardine offered his thoughts on the win: “We are to be congratulated for the game we played. We took no risks. We were solid. We looked for the goal all the time. The result, to go through on penalties, in my opinion, crowned the team that tried all the time to attack, to qualify in regular playing time.
“We deserved it, and in the end, that was the feeling we got. If you deserve to win during the game, things happen on penalties. Mexico have a great level. It’s a team that defends very well and is also very dangerous in attack. It demanded a lot of concentration from us.”
Japan 0 – 1 Spain:
Spain have defeated the hosts’ Japan in the other semi-finals, with Marco Asensio scoring the only goal.
The Spaniards dominated the possession and had more shots on target (6) than compared to Japan’s (1).
The game progressed to extra time after both sides failed to find the nets. Los Blancos forward Asensio broke the deadlock in the 115th minute to put La Roja in the finals. Now, they await Brazilians for the gold medal match.
