Brazil underlined their position as favorites for Olympic soccer gold when they gave a masterful performance to complete a 2-0 win over hosts Britain, who fielded a united team for the first time in 41 years.
Brazil won the friendly on Friday with a header from Sandro and a penalty from Neymar just five days before the start on Wednesday of the London Games soccer competition, which features an under-23 lineup with three over-aged players.
Brazil, seeking to win the Olympic title for the first time, sent a powerful message of intent to the other 15 teams in the competition with a silky display in their final warm-up before the Games.
Photo: Reuters
On an unusually sunny summer’s evening at the Riverside, there was excitement that the Olympics was drawing closer.
Britain struck gold in three out of four Games from 1900, but in recent years, fielding a Team GB has been blocked by the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland soccer associations amid fears that they might lose their independent status within soccer world body FIFA.
No British team took part in Olympic soccer since a qualifying defeat to Bulgaria in May 1971 cost them a place in the 1972 Munich Games, but when London was awarded the Games, the hosts were obliged to compete.
Friday’s match was Britain’s only warm-up before the start of their Olympic campaign against Senegal at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Judging on this performance though, coach Stuart Pearce has plenty of work to do over the remaining few days if Britain are going to come anywhere close to the golds they won in the far simpler sporting times of 1900, 1908 and 1912.
Starting with seven Englishmen and four Welshmen, including captain Ryan Giggs, Britain looked uncomfortable on the ball and far from a cohesive blend.
They allowed Brazil too much time and space on the ball, and with players like Neymar facing them, that was a dangerous tactic to pursue.
The opening goal came after a lack of communication in the Britain defense, allowing Sandro, who plays in London for Tottenham Hotspur, to loop in a header.
Neymar doubled the lead 10 minutes before the interval, when Hulk was tripped by Micah Richards and the 20-year-old striker beat ’keeper Jason Steele from the penalty spot.
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
China’s Wu Yize on Monday won the World Snooker Championship for the first time with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Shaun Murphy in the final. Wu held his nerve to seal his thrilling triumph in a tense last frame shoot-out at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. The 22-year-old is the second Chinese player to win the world title after Zhao Xintong beat Mark Williams to make history as the first Asian to lift the trophy last year. Wu is also the second-youngest player to be crowned world champion at the Crucible after Stephen Hendry, who was 21 when he won in 1990. “I have been trying
RSS