21 – Germany have scored 21 goals at Rio 2016, averaging about a goal every 22 minutes.
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They fell just short in London four years ago, losing 2-1 to Mexico in the final to add to two other silver and two more bronze medals. To claim the only title that has always eluded them, the hosts will have to win a final in the Maracana against the very opponents who humiliated them two years ago.
Team Brazil broke no sweat in their route to the finals of the 2016 Olympics for men’s football, where they effortlessly took care of their matches since the beginning of the group stages.
The only time that a team from Germany had won gold was in 1976, when East Germany had beaten Poland in the final, before the re-unification of Germany had taken place.
Brazil was the main favorite to win the Olympic gold, the only significant trophy it hasn’t won in soccer.
It took just 15 seconds for the weight of a nation to be lifted from the shoulders of Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar and his Olympic teammates Wednesday afternoon.
Micale said: “Maybe my intention is to change the style, but we also want to get the best out of our players”. They will play Serbia, who had a narrow 86-83 win over Croatia.
Rodrigo Caio, 23, plays for Brazilian club Sao Paulo but soon will be on his way to Europe.
Later, after the match, Neymar dodged the waiting journalists in the mixed zone and exited saying that he will speak only after the final.
“Scoring a goal that early was spectacular for us”, Brazil coach Rogerio Micale said.
He also excelled in the first two games of the tournament, when the attack failed to score and Brazil was held to scoreless draws against South African and Iraq.
“This is the Neymar that we like to see on the field”, said 38-year-old Brazilian fan Andre Gustavo Correa, speaking outside the Maracana.
In other competition across Rio, Spain beat France, 92-67, to bring to an end Tony Parker’s Olympic career and Australia beat Lithuania, 90-64, in the quarterfinals of the men’s basketball tournament.
Suffering because no one could forget the 7-1 humiliation on home soil by Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals. This was an all Latino semi-final that saw Brazil come into the game with a force not many expected.
This is the first time teams from the same country will contest both the men’s and women’s finals at an Olympic Games.
Marquinhos celebrating his goal vs Honduras.
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It was a not-all-unexpected result, though this might be an eye-opener: Both 2008 champion Dawn Harper-Nelson and the current world-record holder, Keni Harrison, were back home after failing to crack the top three at the U.S. Olympic trials. Replays show the ball hits the side netting and rolls along the back of the net giving the illusion it’s in basically what I’m saying is that it’s still 4-0 and it wasn’t a goal.
