Host nation Brazil awoke from their Olympic soccer slumber, earning a 4-0 victory over Denmark in Salvador on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals.
Advertisement
Brazil’s team, featuring superstar Neymar, is on the brink of first-round elimination after a pair of scoreless ties against South Africa and Iraq.
“Marta and Neymar are two great Brazilian players”, Micale said.
Neymar, Brazil’s captain, was also criticized for not taking a more active role as the one of the team’s most experienced players.
Led by Neymar, Brazil arrived as favourites to win the Olympic tournament and finally claim the gold medal, which is the only major prize the five-time world champions haven’t won in soccer.
Honduras claimed the second qualifying spot by virtue of a superior goal difference over Argentina, which missed a penalty in their match, with both sides finishing with four points.
Chelsea and Leicester target Gabriel Barbosa kicked off the scoring with a tidy finish across goal in the 26th minute. They were seeking redemption after a humiliating 7-1 semifinal World Cup loss to Germany two summers ago.
The Barcelona superstar has felt the backlash of fans following two disappointing performances at Rio 2016 in the group stages the tournament.
The Argentine ace – widely regarded as the best player in the world – announced his retirement from his national team this summer, following Argentina’s third consecutive defeat in a major final in as many summers.
Former Olympic gold medalists Mexico and Argentina suffered the same fate as Amaglug-glug, who failed to progress out the group stages at the Olympics. The result follows the senior team’s loss in the Copa America final in June and added to the crisis enveloping the sport at home.
Their win lifted them above the Mexicans, who lost 1-0 to South Korea by conceding a goal to Kwon Chang-hoon in the 77th minute.
The Africans had already done enough to top Group B, rendering Japan’s 1-0 win over Sweden meaningless. Don’t expect Honduras to roll over for South Korea as the only CONCACAF country to reach the knockout rounds and a team that has done that for two straight Olympics.
Advertisement
All quarter-final matches will be on Saturday.
