Brazil vs Spain
Brazil are one step away to successfully complete their title defence as they’ll face Spain in the upcoming Olympics 2020 men’s football final.
The Samba Boys are fresh from a tough victory against the Mexicans in the semis, in a game that went to as far as the penalty shootout. On the other side of the semis bracket, Spain needed 115 minutes to secure the win against hosts Japan.
With their losses, Japan and Mexico will now meet in the bronze medal match while Brazil and Spain are assured of either a silver or a gold.
Given the tight nature of both semi-finals matches, the Olympics 2020 odds point to only a few goals in this highly-anticipated fixture.
Neither have been really prolific in front of goal in this tournament. But given their overall quality, perhaps this is the perfect time for either of these two clubs to rediscover their shooting touch.
Read on below as SBOTOP looks ahead at the gold medal game for the Olympics men’s football here in our latest preview.
Talking Points
Anything less than gold is failure for Brazil
Brazil were coasting all throughout this competition up until they met Mexico in the semis, and perhaps it was the wake-up call that they needed heading into the final.
The Selecao began their campaign in style when they thumped Germany in a 4-2 tally, as Richarlison became the first Premier League player to score a hat-trick at the Olympics games and he did it in just 30 minutes.
Richarlison has been the main man for the Brazilians ever since and he’ll be a key man to look out for in this final.
The positive Olympics 2020 results continued as they grabbed a draw against Ivory Coast and a convincing win over Saudi Arabia to qualify for the knockout stages.
Egypt would await them in the quarter-finals, and the contest was ultimately settled when Matheus Cunha scored the only goal.
Against Mexico in the semi-finals, the match went to the penalties when neither scored in regulation. In the end, Brazil were the more clinical side thanks to scores by Dani Alves, Gabriel Martinelli, Bruno Guimaraes, and Reiner.
Since they’re the tournament favourites, there’s always pressure for Andre Jardine’s side.
The Samba Boys have already missed out on a trophy when they lost to Argentina in the Copa America final and they wouldn’t want another runner-up finish here in Tokyo.
Spain to lean on to their La Liga stars
The Spaniards have players who are coming off of Euro 2020 and they will be relied upon to try and bring the gold home.
Pau Torres, Unai Simon, Pedri, Dani Olmo, and Mikel Oyarzabal will play key roles to La Roja’s fortunes. However, their x-factor heading into this fixture is going to be Marco Asensio.
Marco Asensio came into this competition on the back of a quiet season with Real Madrid and he’s bidding for more minutes under Carlo Ancelotti by playing well here in Tokyo.
The 25-year-old winger has been influential to Spain’s attack, picking out players to create numerous attacking opportunities.
His quality was in full display during their must-win game against Australia when he teed up Mikel Oyarzabal for the winning goal.
Against Japan in the semi-finals, Asensio delivered once more when he broke the host’s hearts with his curling effort late.
Spain need all hands on deck if they’re going to upset Brazil and Marco Asensio’s form could be the difference between a silver or a gold.
History
Prior to this weekend, Brazil and Spain have already squared off nine times in international competitions.
The Samba Boys hold the significant edge in the overall head-to-heads with five victories, whereas La Roja have won two times along with two draws.
This is a chance for Brazil to retain the gold that they’ve won five years ago when they were the hosts in Rio 2016.
The 2016 Olympics Brazil football team was a different group back then as they were led by the likes of Gabriel Barbosa, Gabriel Jesus, Marquinhos, Rafinha, Felipe Anderson, and Neymar.
Meanwhile, Spain can clinch Olympic gold for the first time since the Barcelona 1992 Games.
By making it this far, the Spaniards have already equalled their best result since Athens 2000 with a guaranteed silver, although they would prefer to go all the way this Saturday.
The 1992 Olympics Spain football team featured the likes of Kiko — who led the team with five tournament goals — Abelardo Fernandez, Luis Enrique, and current Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
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