Brazil start Olympic campaign with victory over Germany

Brazil returned to the country where they won the World Cup back in 2002 and at Tokyo, the opposition was the Germans who were the opponents at Yokohama. After the defeat at Maracana the Brazilians were hit psychologically and there was no option other than shinning in the Tokyo Olympics and in the end, the Selecao started their campaign with a victory in an entertaining affair.

It took Brazil seven minutes to kick start their mission with Richarlison, who started on the left, beating the German keeper – a right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom right corner. Before that, he was about to hit the target as his attempt was saved from an assist by Antony, who was employed on the right-wing.

That goal injected energy and attacking intent among the boys as Claudinho and Matheus Cunha had the German defence on the back foot – they pressurized the backline and posed threats, but their attempts were saved.

In the twenty-second minute, full-back Guilherme Arana produced an inch-perfect cross and Richarlison pounced on it to give Brazil the 2-0 lead.

Eight minutes later, Cunha set up Richarlison to complete his hat-trick.

Richarlison's hat-trick for Brazil against Germany is the first treble scored by a Premier League player at the Olympic Games.

Brazil went for the kill and there was every possibility to paying back the tragedy of Mane Garrincha in 2014, but, in turn, Brazil exhibited a show of missed chances that would certainly hurt them.

Dani Alves assisted Richarlison to go for the shot but it lacked the power like before and was saved.

Alves was in action again to assist Cinha but the header lacked sharpness and was saved.

The German backline was melting under the pressure created by the Brazilian attackers, but the goals were missing due to the lack of fulfilment.

Germany conceded a penalty as Benjamin Henrichs was the guilty party with hand ball in the penalty area.

Matheus Cunha missed the penalty and in the stoppage time Cunha split-opened the German defence and missed another opportunity – after the missed penalty, it was an open goal and Brazil would have gone to the dugout with a five-goal lead.

After the break, the energetic Antony kept the right flank busy, linking up well with Alves, but yet again, his attempts lacked the clinical touch.

 Matheus Cunha’s right-footed shot, assisted by Dani Alves, from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Then Cunha set up Claudinho, but his shot was high and wide.

While the Brazilians were having fun with the German backline, they pulled one back in the fifty-seventh minute through Nadiem Amiri.

But Brazil continued to attack - Arana produced a cross following a set piece situation and Richarlison header missed the target. 

Diego Carlos came up from the defence and took a shot, which was saved.

Guess what, it was the other centre-back Nino who assisted his defensive partner.

Andre Jardin brought on Malcom, who immediately had an impact by setting up Antony, whose shot missed the target.

An assist by Cunha set up Bruno Guimares, but his attempt lacked the goal-scoring touch as well.

After Guimares, it was his central midfield partner, Douglas Luiz, who missed another opportunity.

How could Brazil not score at least ten goals by now remained a surprising thing.

With six minutes Ragnar Ache made it 3-2 for Germany taking full advantage of a defence that was staying in a much higher line.

The German nature of coming back is nothing new and just when they started to think about scripting a thrilling bounce back, substitute Paulinho was set up by Guimares to make it 4-2 in stoppage time and secure the victory.

Bruno Guimares enjoyed a splendid match at the centre of the park by dictating the game with razor-sharp passes that broke the passing lanes and set up the players up front, while even at the age of 38, Dani Alves remains the best full-back for Brazil.

Still, Brazil’s habit of missing opportunities remains a concern. They showed this habit during Copa America and in Tokyo, nothing changed.

This habit needs to change. 

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 22/07/2021 Brazil start Olympic campaign with victory over Germany 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar