Barcelona star Neymar said Saturday (Aug 20) he will step down as Brazil captain after leading the Olympic Games’ hosts to their first ever football gold medal.
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Schough had a great chance to level the scores three minutes from time but her shot was blocked just yards from goal, much to the chagrin of a Brazilian crowd who were supporting the Swedes, perhaps because the German men’s side hammered Brazil’s men 7-1 in the World Cup two years ago.
Germany found its equalizer in the 59th minute when Maximilian Meyer slotted his first-time shot into the back of the net.
Head coach Rogerio Micale proudly declared that “Brazilian football is not dead” after leading the nation to a historic Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016.
Meyer nearly responded immediately for Germany, first inadvertently with a free-kick of his own that was deflected amongst a crowd of players in the box before finding its way onto the Brazil crossbar once again, and then with a volley from the resulting corner, which was well saved by goalkeeper Weverton down to his right.
Still, any doubts about the importance of this gold medal to Brazil were answered by the cacophonous noise created by the 78,000 fans packed inside the Maracana.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – With a kiss of the ball and an unforgettable kick, Brazil’s biggest soccer star gave the Olympic host its biggest moment of the games. Neymar then sparked into life again to put through Felipe Anderson – who was about to pull the trigger when through one-on-one before Lukas Klostermann made a last-ditch tackle.
Neymar scored with a superb free kick in regulation and converted the decisive penalty in the shootout after Brazilian goalkeeper Weverton stopped Nils Petersen’s shot.
From the resulting corner, Weverton saved sharply from Meyer and Matthias Ginter was unable to convert the rebound.
However, Neymar’s role as captain was questioned after he was sent-off in just his second competitive match in the role against Colombia at last year’s Copa America. Neymar played every minute of the Olympics and was noticeably limping and out of steam by the 112th minute on Saturday, but he pushed to make it to penalty kicks.
“I told Neymar that God had given him a second chance”. Brazil won the bronze two times. “I can’t describe my feelings right now”.
Brazil had lost three Olympic finals, including four years ago in London, when it was upset by Mexico 2-1 with a team that also included Neymar and other talented players.
“It wasn’t easy. I don’t know what else to say, I’m just really happy”.
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After he whipped the ball off the crossbar and past Horn, the stadium’s volume was such that d Christ the Redeemer on his hill above the Brazilian goal might have glanced over to see what the fuss was about. The Olympics, where men’s soccer is treated as slightly more than a youth tournament, just isn’t almost as important as a World Cup.
