Brazil take home a second consecutive gold medal in the Olympic Games Men’s Football event after edging out Spain in the final. This comes after their maiden gold medal triumph five years ago on home soil.
Brazil🇧🇷 has won #gold in #Football – Men's at #Tokyo2020 #UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether | #Olympics
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 7, 2021
Spain pushed and tried until the very last minute in the Olympic Games men’s football final in Yokohama, but in the end it wasn’t to be for them as La Roja did not have an answer for Malcom’s 108th minute effort for Brazil after he came on as a substitute.
FootTheBall analyses the match in Yokohama as Brazil once more take the gold medal home by winning 2-1 against Spain in the final of the men’s football tournament in the Olympic Games Japan.
FAST START FROM BOTH SIDES
Both Brazil and Spain pushed for an opener as soon as the whistle blew for the gold medal match in Yokohama. The South Americans came close in the opening 10 minutes with Guilherme Arana and Richarlison combining only for the Everton player to miss the opportunity of putting the ball in the back of the net.
Meanwhile, Marc Cucurella and Antony were involved in a key duel of their own as the Spanish left-back looked to restrict the Braziliant right-winger and give his side the advantage down that side.
In the 12th minute, Unai Simon had to come off his line to head the ball away after Antony had beaten Cucurella to surge forward in search of the opening goal.
SPAIN DOMINATE, BRAZIL SCORE
La Roja had 55% possession of the ball in the first half and more passes than Brazil, but still the Spaniards went behind when the first half concluded in Yokohama. It all started in the 34th minute when Matheus Cunha drew a foul from Unai Simon and the referee awarded a penalty after a VAR review.
Richarlison stepped up to take the chance from 12 yards, but skewed it badly as it sailed over the crossbar to give Spain a lifeline. But it didn’t last for long as Brazil started applying pressure with the minutes ticking by in the first half.
HALF-TIME: Brazil 1-0 La Roja. The selecao into the break one to the good thanks to Matheus Cunha's excellent strike. Richarlison also missed a penalty kick. Big second half in store for Luis de la Fuente's men to come back.
— Football España (@footballespana_) August 7, 2021
They were able to finally find a way through, deep into first half stoppage time, as once more Matheus Cunha found himself in the right place at the right time to send the ball rolling in the bottom right corner to give the Brazilians a precious 1-0 lead as all players headed down the tunnel in Yokohama.
SPAIN LEVEL ON THE HOUR MARK IN YOKOHAMA
The Spaniards made two half-time substitutions as Carlos Soler and Bryan Gil came on for Mikel Merino and Marco Asensio respectively in Yokohama. But it was the Brazilians who once again started where they left off as they went for goal as soon as the second half started.
Antony went on a driving run for Brazil only to see his shot saved by Unai Simon in the 50th minute as the South Americans pushed for a two-goal advantage in order to virtually ensure their first-place finish.
Two minutes later Richarlison hit the crossbar after having beaten Unai Simon. Pau Torres shielded the ball to wait for the arrival of Simon on the goal-line only to give away a corner after putting the ball behind after some moments of nervousness for the Villarreal defender.
But nine minutes later, Spain were back on level terms in Yokohama as Mikel Oyarzabal finished beautifully from a cross provided by Carlos Soler from the right flank. The 24-year old hit a perfect volley to restore parity in the gold medal match.
Both sides stepped down a notch after that, but the Spaniards once again came alive at the very end as Bryan Gil’s shot from outside the box met the crossbar in the 88th minute. But, as both sides could not be separated at full-time, the referee blew the whistle for half an hour of more action in Yokohama.
MALCOM’S WINNER SEALS SECOND GOLD
The Brazilians were dominant in the extra time action in Yokohama as they tried time and again to score the decisive goal to end the contest and they were duly rewarded when substitute Malcom scored for the South Americans in the second half of extra time.
Antony and Malcom combined and the Zenit St. Petersburg player finished form a tight angle from the left flank to restore Brazil’s advantage. In the end, Malcom’s effort was enough for Brazil to secure the gold medal against Spain in the men’s football tournament in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Spain can take heart from their performance in the final as they pushed until the very last minute to find an equaliser after going behind at the very start of the second half in extra time.