Brazilian star Neymar opened his scoring account for the Olympics, but was also lucky to stay on the field for chopping down Andres Roa as the hosts led Colombia 1-0 at half-time in their quarter-final.
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With the team in danger of another embarrassing home elimination two years after that crushing 7-1 loss to Germany at the World Cup in 2014, Neymar finally came to the fore in Brazil’s must-win last group game against Denmark last Thursday, setting up two goals in a 4-0 win.
“Neymar is experienced and he did well controlling the game”, Luan said.
They’ve won five FIFA World Cups, the Copa America eight times and the Confederations Cup four times. But Brazil is finding their stride at the right time, and head into the semifinal on solid form.
“It will be a tough game”, Micale said, “but I’m confident that our team will be prepared to do its job”.
In the other semifinal match, 1996 Olympic champion Nigeria will face Germany, which is playing at the Olympic tournament for the first time since 1988 when Jurgen Klinsmann was in the squad.
Meanwhile, Brazil is now scheduled to face Honduras in the semifinal, and hopefully soccer’s favorite party boy can keep his swagger up for the remainder of the Rio Games. Germany has the competition’s best attack with 19 goals.
Earlier, Germany thumped Portugal 4-0 to set up a semi-final clash with Nigeria.
Pinto knows the challenge awaiting his side, who were fortunate to beat South Korea 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
“We have been disrespected from all angles -by the sports ministry, the Nigeria Football Federation”.
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In women’s quarterfinals, Sweden stunned the United States on penalties, 4-3, while Germany beat China (1-0), Canada defeated France (1-0), and Brazil survived Australia also on penalties, 7-6. It lost to Lionel Messi’s Argentina in 2008 in Beijing, and made it to the final in 2012 in London but lost the gold to Mexico. But despite winning a lot, the Brazilians have never managed to win when it matters the most – the final.
