Brazil, the record five-times World Cup winners, are yet to triumph in the men’s Olympic football tournament, losing finals in 1984, 1988 and 2012.
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The visitors were dealt a heavy blow as they had to play with 10 men from the 58th minute after midfielder Mothobi Mvala got his marching orders this was after he received a second yellow card in a space of few minutes.
With Barcelona star Neymar leading the side and the new Manchester City lad Gabriel Jesus on the pitch for Brazil, the home side was expected to demolish the Africans.
With the Olympic gold the only major football award the Brazilian team has never attained, the disappointment of the host nation is huge with just a tie.
Group “A”: Iraq 0 drew with Denmark 0; Brazil 0 drew with South Africa 0.
“Inexplicably, Brazil did everything contrary to what they rehearsed and preached for 17 days [in preparation]”, Rio de Janeiro’s O Globo newspaper said.
Gabriel Jesus had the best chance of the game in the 69th minute when he was able to convert from close range in front of an open net, his strike hitting the post. Twelve women’s teams are in Brazil, along with 16 men’s sides.
“The first game is always the most hard, for the nerves you have before you begin to play”, he said.
Mercilessly cast as “greedy” and “missing” for failing to fire Brazil to victory in their Olympic opener against South Africa, Neymar and his highly touted teammates need a big response against Iraq today.
Brazil ramped up the pressure. “Sometimes the ball won’t go in, but that’s not going to happen all the time”.
However, South Africa resisted to add problems on the field for the hosts to a Games build-up already marred by fears surrounding the Zika virus and Brazil’s political turmoil. Brazil had controlled most of the ball possession and had pressured the visitors the whole match, but the ball still could not get past Khune.
Both sides are looking to the future with Lionel Messi having announced his worldwide retirement with Argentina after three final losses and Portuguese hero Cristiano Ronaldo now 31.
A goalkeeping error by Geronimo Rulli then sealed the win for Portugal as the Argentina shotstopper let Pite’s tame shot squeeze through his legs.
Two-time gold medallists Argentina face Algeria after suffering a 2-0 opening defeat to Portugal.
Three goals in 10 minutes in the second-half put Mexico 2-1 ahead as Oribe Peralta and Rodolfo Pizarro struck either side of Arsenal’s Serge Gnabry’s reply for Germany.
The team boarded a jet out of Atlanta on Thursday morning for the jungle city of Manaus, Brazil, where it beat Japan 5-4 later in the day. In its eighth straight Olympics, South Korea scored seven of its goals after the 60th minute.
Sweden and Colombia are in action in Manaus in Group B.
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