Brazil U23 soccer team wins gold,after defeating Germany on Penalties
Brazil's captain and star player Neymar scored the winning penalty, After sending the German Keeper the wrong way. He broke into tears as his teammates gathered around him in a rapturous Maracana Stadium in Rio .The Samba boy with a precise, arcing free kick that bounced in off the crossbar, past the goalkeeper's outstretched hand.Germany turned on the pressure and equalised back in the second half thanks to a quick-fire kick from Maximilian Meyer .
That was The first goal Brazil conceded at the Rio Games.
Brazil seized the initiative after that, but Germany resisted attack after attack from the home team to take the game to penalties. For four rounds, the players delivered. But Brazilian goalkeepr Weverton saved the fifth German kick, setting up Neymar for the dramatic win.He stuttered as he approached the ball, trying to understand and predict which way the german goalkeeper would dive, then made history in a match that carried deep significance for Brazil,
Brazil was looking to avenge a 7-1 loss to the Germans two years ago in the World Cup, and the atmosphere at the nearly 80,000-seat Maracana Stadium was suitable and fantastic for Neymar's goal. It was thunderous at the finale.
"There is nothing like playing at home and having the chance of winning something that we've dreamed about for so long," Neymar said before the match.
"We are focused only on playing well and winning this gold medal
.The final featured nearly entirely different rosters from the 2014 World Cup that marked a low point for Brazilian soccer. That's because Olympic soccer features under-23 teams while the World Cup is for the top national squad.Neymar didn't play in that match either — he was injured earlier in the tournament — and was the difference in the Olympic final.The gold medal he won for Brazil fills the empty space in the country's trophy case. Brazil has won five world cups, most recently in 2002, when they defeated Germany in the final thanks to two goals from phenomena striker Rinaldo, a legend in his own right.Brazil had won the silver medal at the olympics three times and the bronze twice. Four years ago, she lost to Mexico in the final in London. Germany was playing in the Olympics for the first time since 1988, when it won bronze competing as West Germany. It had never won the gold, either.
The bronze medal went to Nigeria earlier Saturday, as Sadiq Umar scored a pair of goals in a 3-2 victoryover Honduras in Belo Horizonte.It was Nigeria's third overall Olympic medal in soccer. The West African nation won gold at the 1996 Olympics with a 3-2 victory over Argentina, and won the silver in 2008, falling to Argentina 1-0 in the final.
Honduras, which challenged with a pair of late goals, heads home from Brazil empty-handed but the team's appearance in the medal round was its best-ever finish at the Olympics
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