Brazil Clinch Olympic Quarterfinal Berth With Impressive 3-1 Victory Over Belarus

Brazil delivered a scintillating display of attacking football to defeat Belarus in their second match of Group C of the Olympics and guarantee themselves a place in the quarterfinals. After conceding a goal in the 9th minute to a Renan Bressan header, Mano Menezes’s youngsters displayed their maturity and composure by turning to their passing game. Six minutes after going down 1-0, Brazil equalized through a header from Alexandre Pato set up by a Neymar cross delivered from the right flank. Belarus, however, refused to bow down lightly and responded by packing their defense with their squad of strong, tall players. Brazil owned possession, but found it difficult to break through Belarus’s defense despite splaying the ball from wing to wing and driving down the center as well. Rafael and Marcelo pressed down the right and left flank respectively while Neymar, Oscar and Hulk attacked from deeper midfield positions. Frustrated by Belarus’s excellent marking, Brazil began to resort to long range strikes on goal and lobbed balls into the box given their inability to gain any measurable penetration into the Belarus box.

The second half unfolded in much the same way as the first, with Brazil ruling possession and Belarus taking advantage of a handful of counter-attacking opportunities to test the Brazilian goalkeeper Neto. The Brazilians decided to go one on one in advancing on goal and began to win the first of several free kicks on the edge of the penalty area. In the 62nd minute, Hulk blasted a free kick into the wall but then, three minutes later, Neymar delivered a moment of magic at an absolutely crucial point in the game. The spiky haired Santos sensation won a free kick after being fouled subsequent due to some dazzling dribbling artistry. Neymar stepped up to the dead ball and sent the free kick curling into the upper left corner of the net to give Brazil an important 2-1 lead.

The match appeared to be cruising to a 2-1 decision when Neymar, in the dying minutes of stoppage time, picked up the ball on the left flank, raced into the box and flicked a back heel to the onrushing Oscar, who smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Neymar’s goal recalled Pele’s famous assist to Carlos Alberto against Italy in the final of the World Cup 1970 since, like Pele, he hardly looked for the goal scorer but nevertheless delivered the ball on a platter. This may be one of the greatest Brazilian Olympic sides in recent memory although Mano Menezes still needs to tweak his attack as the story of Brazil’s quest for Olympic gold continues.

Brazil Defeat Egypt 3-2 In Group C Olympic Thriller

Brazil scraped to a 3-2 victory over Egypt in their first round match of the Olympics thanks to first half goals by Rafael, Leandro Damiao and Neymar. The Selecao conceded two second half goals but managed to hold on to claim the three points and go top of group C. Oscar set up both of the first two goals and shone in his attacking midfield role in the number 10 jersey. Meanwhile, Hulk assisted on Neymar’s header goal to ensure that all three Brazilian strikers players a pivotal role in scoring today’s goals. Brazil will be ecstatic to have finally broken Leandro Damiao’s goalless run and also for Neymar to have scored from the run of play as opposed to a set piece such a penalty kick. This was a good first match for Brazil, particularly since the offense is starting to click. Expect Hulk to step up to the plate in the next match against Belarus and power his way toward goal.

Brazil Selects Marcelo, Thiago Silva and Hulk For 2012 Olympics

Brazil coach Mano Menezes named a star studded squad for the London 2012 Olympics today featuring Thiago Silva, Marcelo and Hulk as Brazil's three players over the age of 23. Brazil travel to the London Olympics in search of the elusive Olympic gold medal, the only major soccer trophy they have yet to win.

Previously, the Brazil men’s Olympic soccer team earned two silver medals and two bronze medals. Brazil won the silver medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and 1988 Olympics in Seoul and the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the 2008 games in Seoul. This year’s squad is widely considered one of the strongest ever and correspondingly, Brazilian football hopes are pinned on the Olympics in the absence of positive results by the national team at the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 Copa America.

Highlights of Brazil’s 2012 Olympic squad include the following:

• Overage players in the form of Thiago Silva, Hulk and Marcelo
• Selection of Rafael and Danilo as right-backs and the omission of Barcelona's Dani Alves
• Two deeper playing midfielders in Romulus and Sandro
• Three attacking midfield options in the form of Oscar, Paulo Henrique Ganso and Lucas Moura
• Four strikers as represented by Neymar, Hulk, Pato and Leandro Damiao

Brazil are in Group C along with Egypt, Belarus and New Zealand. Mano Menezes’s team kick off their quest for Olympic gold with an opening match in group play against Egypt on July 26 in Cardiff. They play Belarus on July 29 and New Zealand on August 1. AC Milan’s Thiago Silva is likely to captain the team.

Brazil 2012 Olympic Squad

Goalkeepers: Neto (Fiorentina), Rafael (Santos).
Defenders: Alex Sandro (Porto), Rafael (Manchester United), Danilo (Porto), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Bruno Uvini (Sao Paulo), Juan (Inter Milan), Thiago Silva (Milan).
Midfielders: Romulus (Vasco), Sandro (Tottenham), Oscar (Internacional), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos), Lucas Moura (Sao Paulo).
Strikers: Alexandre Pato (Milan), Hulk (Porto), Leandro Damiao (Internacional), Neymar (Santos).

Messi Hat-Trick Fires Argentina To 4-3 Victory Over Brazil

Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Argentina defeated Brazil 4-3 on Saturday in a seven goal thriller that will go down in soccer history as one of the most memorable matches between Brazil and Argentina of all time. The game featured the second encounter between Argentina’s Messi and Brazil’s Neymar after their match-up in Tokyo at the club level in the December Club World Cup Final between Santos and Barcelona. Messi affirmed his position as the world’s best player by giving Neymar yet another lesson in the art of footballing magic by scoring three spectacular goals. Meanwhile, the match demonstrated Argentina’s position as one of the best teams in the world while underscoring Brazil’s depth and reserves of untapped talent.

Playing the last of four friendlies before the Olympics, Brazil continued to field a youthful squad with few players with significant experience for the national team. Coach Mano Menezes opted to start Manchester United’s Rafael instead of Danilo on the right flank and Bruno Uvini for the injured Thiago Silva in central defense. Brazil continued their 4-3-3 formation with Hulk, Leandro Damiao and Neymar in attack. Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella started Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain in attack in front of Angel di Maria in midfield.

Brazil took the initiative in the opening 20 minutes by pressuring Argentina in their own half. Oscar picked out Hulk after 15 minutes but the Porto striker’s shot was saved by Romero. Brazil’s pressure paid off the in the 23rd minute when Neymar curled in a free kick from the right flank that found Romulus in the box. Romulus trapped the ball, turned and dispatched a fierce shot to make it 1-0 Brazil.

Argentina was not to be discouraged easily. In the 31st minute, Angel di Maria split the Brazilian central defense with a terrific through ball which Messi slotted home to make it 1-1. Three minutes later, di Maria threaded another pass to Messi, who rounded Rafael and tucked home his second goal of the afternoon to make the score 2-1 in Argentina’s favor.

Undeterred by Messi’s flashes of brilliance, Brazil took the offensive to Argentina in search of an equalizer in the second half. In the 56th minute, Oscar played a give and go with Leandro Damiao, who had his back to goal. Damiao saw the onrushing Oscar and flicked a pass to his teammate who promptly dispatched it past the keeper’s right hand to make it 2-2. Roughly fifteen minutes later, Romero failed to hold onto a Neymar corner that dropped for Hulk in the box, and the Porto striker made no mistake by dispatching the ball into the back of the net to give Brazil a 3-2 lead.

Argentina showed they were finished yet through a Federico Fernandez header from a corner kick in the 76th minute. Finally, five minutes from the end of regulation, Messi displayed his ability to singlehandedly decide the outcome of a game. The Argentine number 10 picked up the ball on the right flank near the center line, beat Marcelo, cut diagonally inside and unleashed a curling strike with his left foot into the top left corner of the net.

Overall, this was a promising result and performance for both teams. Brazil showed excellent teamwork and attacking creativity. Argentina, meanwhile, have to thank Lionel Messi’s sublime individual play for the victory. The only sour note about the match was an altercation between Argentina’s Lavezzi and Brazil’s Marcelo in injury time that resulted in red cards for both players. Despite poor showings at the 2010 World Cup, Brazil and Argentina both look cohesive and dangerous as illustrated by today’s seven goal feast from the continent’s two titans.

Goals:

Argentina: 31, 34, 85 (Messi), 76 (Fernandez)
Brazil: 23 (Romulus), 56 (Oscar), 72 (Hulk)

Starting Lineups:

Argentina: Romero, Zabaleta, Federico Fernández, Garay, Clemente Rodriguez, Sosa , Mascherano, Gago, Di María, Messi and Higuain.

Brazil: Rafael Cabral, Rafael, Bruno Uvini, Juan, Marcelo, Sandro, Romulus, Oscar, Hulk, Neymar and Leandro Damiao

Brazil v. Mexico 2012: 7 Quick Thoughts

Some quick thoughts on today’s Brazil v. Mexico game in Dallas, which Mexico won 2-0 thanks to goals by Giovani dos Santos and a penalty by Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez.

(1) Mexico played Brazil off the park. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, that it was the referee, the youth of the Brazilian team, etc. Mexico won fair and square.
(2) The key to Mexico’s victory was that they put pressure on the Brazilian flanks and stopped any kind of dangerous wide play. Danilo couldn’t get down the right flank and neither could Marcelo, effectively, though he did a better job than Danilo. Mexico did exactly what France did in the 1998 World Cup final by pressuring the flanks and threatening on the counter-attack.
(3) Neymar looked tired. Yes, he attempted to carry the team almost on his shoulders, toward the end, but he’s clearly playing too much football.
(4) Oscar is a gem. He drops back and helps in defense, and pops up on the left and right flanks as needed.
(5) Brazil are missing that killer, final pass in the last third of the park. Oscar does well to maintain possession but he can’t pick out attackers the way Ganso can.
(6) Brazil is not ready for the style in which Mano wants them to play. They don’t have that kind of 1970s talent or even talent that approaches 1998 and 2002. The ball moves through midfield too slowly. The real weakness of the team is the final switch from midfield to attack.
(7) The time for Muricy Ramalho or Joel Santana to take over the helm of the Selecao may be fast approaching.

Brazil Defeats USA 4-1 In Friendly

Brazil defeated the USA 4-1 in a fiercely contested friendly at the FedExField in Landover, MD tonight. The match showcased some clinical finishing by the Brazilians, phenomenal goalkeeping by Brazil's Rafael and an outstanding performance by their left back Marcelo. Brazil coach Mano Menezes fielded the same squad that played in Saturday's friendly against Denmark with the exception of Neymar starting for Lucas Moura and Santos goalkeeper Rafael in lieu of Jefferson. The U.S.'s Jurgen Klinsmann, meanwhile, opted for attackers Landon Donovan and Hercules Gomez in front of midfielders Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Maurice Edu and Jose Torres.

Brazil dominated possession in the first half and maintained constant pressure against the U.S. back line, making it difficult for the Americans to string together passes in midfield and pose any kind of serious attacking threat. The first goal resulted from an Onyewu handball in the box that led to a penalty which Neymar dispatched in the lower right corner in the 12th minute. Fourteen minutes later, Brazil struck again, this time from a corner kick delivered by Neymar to the head of Thiago Silva, the Brazil captain who scored his first international goal. Brazil continued to press the attack and deny the U.S. possession until minutes before half-time. Fabian Johnson stormed into the box and cut a Bradley pass onto the head of Hercules Gomez, who promptly directed the ball into the back of the net to make the score 2-1 going into half-time. Gomez's goal punctuated a lively first half in which he was involved with the few attacking chances available to the USA.

Buoyed by their comeback goal late in the first half, team USA came out onto the field with vigor after the break and began to find space as Brazil appeared to have taken their foot off the gas pedal. But in the 52nd minute, a dangerous Hulk-Neymar-Marcelo attack on the left flank ended up in a Neymar cross to Marcelo, who cut diagonally inside from the flank to score Brazil's third goal. Meanwhile, the U.S. went on to create a bevy of dangerous chances in the second half, none of which they were able to convert.

In the 64th minute, substitute Clint Dempsey almost made it 2-2 but his effort from close range, off a Hercules Gomez header, was cleared off the line by some skillful defending from Brazil midfielder Romulo. Similarly, in the 77th minute, Gomez had a shot saved by Rafael, and the Santos keeper rose to the occasion again to deny Boyd on the rebound. With the score at 3-1, Brazil chose to pressure less and hang back and scrappily defend, allowing the Americans to surge forward. Rafael saved the day again, for Brazil, in the 85th minute from a Bradley header, and minutes later, Onyewu headed a cross onto the bar.

Brazil put the icing on the cake in the 87th minute thanks to a cross from Marcelo that found substitute Alexandre Pato on the edge of the area. Pato chested down Marcelo's looping cross, beat the offside trap and clinically fired home Brazil's fourth goal with his first touch, like a true world class striker. The Americans continued to press, particularly down the right flank, but Brazil held on for a well deserved victory against a spirited USA team playing at home. Team USA played exciting, threatening soccer in the second half but the match was really lost within 60 minutes thanks to clinical Brazilian finishing and superb possession. Nevertheless, the game will be sure to serve as a reality check of sorts to a U.S. team that, coming into today's friendly, claimed a five match unbeaten streak including a 5-1 demolition of Scotland and a 1-0 victory against former World Cup champions Italy.

Goals
Brazil: Neymar (12, pen); Thiago Silva (26), Marcelo (52), Pato (87)
USA: Gomez (45)

Starting Lineups

USA: Howard (GK); Cherundolo, Onyewu, Bocanegra, Johnson; Bradley, Jones, Edu; Torres Donovan, Gomez,

Brazil: Rafael Cabral (GK); Danilo, Thiago Silva, Juan, Marcelo; Sandro, Rômulo, Oscar; Neymar, Hulk, Leandro Damião

Hulk Inspires Brazil To 3-1 Victory Over Denmark

Brazil cruised to a 3-1 victory over Denmark in today’s international friendly match in Hamburg thanks to two goals by Hulk and a Danish own goal. Mano Menezes fielded his preferred 4-3-3 formation with Thiago Silva and Juan in central defense, accompanied by Marcelo and Danilo in the left and right fullback position, respectively. Brazil opted for two deep playing midfielders in Sandro and Romulo, who were positioned behind attacking midfielders Oscar and Lucas Moura. Leandro Damiao and Hulk formed the Brazilian strike partnership with Hulk on the right in a position similar to that which he plays for Porto. Notably, Mano Menezes started the right footed Lucas Moura on the left flank, as a left winger supplementing the Damiao-Hulk pairing.

Denmark’s Marten Olsen opted for a 4-5-1 formation with Bendtner in attack behind a five man midfield composed of Niki Zimling, Lasse Schone, Christian Eriksen, Christian Poulsen and Michael Krohn-Dehli. The match began with lively end to end football from both teams. Hulk opened the scoring in the 8th minute with a blistering left footed strike from roughly 25 meters that marked his debut goal for the Selecao. Bolstered by confidence from having scored the opening goal, Brazil gradually obtained a grip on possession and began splaying the ball from wing to wing, with both Danilo and Marcelo looking dangerous. Five minutes later, Hulk became involved in Brazil’s second goal. Oscar popped up on the far right flank in the box and passed to Hulk, who became the foil that led Zimling to inadvertently knock the ball into his own net. With less than 15 minutes gone, Brazil were off to a dream, 2-0 start.

Denmark began to find their rhythm at the half hour mark through combination play featuring Eriksen, Krohn-Dehli and Bendtner, but failed to find the back of the net despite a sustained period of possession. Then, in trademark fashion, Brazil struck just when it looked as if their opponent were about to get the upper hand on the flow of the game. Hulk collected the ball from Oscar’s tackle on Danish defender Agger, dribbled behind the Danish defense and maintained his composure in front of goalkeeper Andersen by taking the ball onto his left foot and dispatching it low and to the right past the keeper’s left hand to make it 3-0.

The second half featured more threatening play from the Danes as Brazil became less imaginative when it came to attacks. Denmark, correspondingly, began to control midfield possession. Daniel Agger missed a tap-in, golden opportunity to make it 3-1 in the 48th minute from a Wass pass delivered from the right flank. Olsen replaced Christian Eriksen with Dennis Rommedahl in the 62nd minute in a substitution that increased the danger and frequency of Denmark’s attacks. In the 71st minute, Denmark’s search for a breakthrough goal bore fruit when Zimling streamed down the left flank and found Bendtner in the box, who calmly tapped the ball in from close range to make it 3-1.

With the goal advantage cut from three to two, Brazil became more disciplined and were helped by fresh legs due to a bevy of substitutions such as Rafael, Wellington Nem, Giuliano, Casemiro and Bruno Uvini. Denmark continued to press the attack but Brazil regained some possession thanks to Casemiro and Oscar in midfield, and Wellington Nem playing as a right winger. The score stood at 3-1 as the referee blew his whistle in a match that marked a thrilling result for a young Brazilian team. Brazil fans will take heart from Hulk’s brace and overall impressive play. Moreover, Oscar delivered a stellar performance in the number 10 jersey and was involved in all three goals.

Brazil have now won seven consecutive matches and next face the United States on May 30 in the second of four friendlies before the Olympics. Denmark next play Australia on June 2 before their opening match against Holland on June 9 in Group B of Euro 2012. Denmark have been drawn in the "group of death" for Euro 2012 alongside Holland, Germany and Portugal.

Starting Lineups:

Brazil:

Jefferson (GK), Thiago Silva, Juan, Danilo, Marcelo, Sandro, Romulo, Lucas, Oscar, Leandro Damiao, Hulk

Denmark:

Thomas Sorensen (GK), Simon Kjaer, Daniel Agger, Simon Poulsen, Daniel Wass, Christian Poulsen, Christian Eriksen, Lasse Schone, Niki Zimling, Michael Krohn-Dehli, Nicklas Bendtner

Goals
Brazil: Hulk (8), Zimling (OG), Hulk (40)
Denmark: Bendtner (71)