Brazil gold hopes fade with another scoreless draw
Print Edition
BRAZIL’S hopes of winning Olympic soccer gold on home soil looked more distant than ever on Sunday after it was held 0-0 by Iraq.
The host nation, which also drew 0-0 with South Africa on Thursday, was roundly booed by the 65,000 crowd in Brasilia as it failed to break down a stubborn Iraq side. The fans chanted “Marta, Marta” in reference to the five-time world player of the year who has been thriving with the women’s national team.
Neymar almost scored direct from a corner and Renato Augusto hit the bar with a dipping drive but Brazil could not turn its pressure into goals.
The result leaves Brazil tied for second place in Group A. The team needs a victory over Denmark on Wednesday in Salvador to advance and avoid another huge embarrassment at home two years after the 1-7 loss to Germany in the World Cup semifinals.
“We need to apologize to the fans, to the people of Brasilia,” Brazil coach Rogerio Micale said. “We didn’t play our best football. We feel like we left our fans frustrated.”
In other games, Nigeria became the first team to advance to the quarterfinals by beating Sweden 1-0 in the jungle city of Manaus, earning the spot in the knockout round despite arriving in Brazil just hours before its opening game because of a travel mix-up.
Portugal moved close to the quarterfinals by beating Honduras 2-1 in Rio de Janeiro, while defending champion Mexico defeated Fiji 5-1 in Salvador with four goals by midfielder Erick Gutierrez.
Argentina topped Algeria 2-1 in Rio for its first win, while Germany scored late in a 3-3 draw against South Korea, making a record eighth consecutive appearance in the Olympics, in Salvador.
Denmark, Brazil’s next opponent, beat South Africa 1-0 earlier in Brasilia. It was held scoreless by Iraq in its opener.
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