Brazil defeated Spain in the finals of the men’s football category in Tokyo to defend their gold medal at the Olympics. They become only the fifth team in history to achieve this feat, having defeated Germany in Rio 2016 to secure their gold medal the last time. Additionally, they have reached the final in both previous Olympics, winning in Rio and losing in London.
Spain were favourites to win gold in the competition by a very fine margin. They had several players featuring from their Euro 2020 squad including Pau Torres, Eric Garcia, Unai Simon, Mikel Oyarzabal and Dani Olmo. And despite impressing throughout the tournament, they were unable to do enough to defeat Brazil.Â
La Roja were defeated 2-1 at the end of extra time, with the winner coming in the second half of AET. Richarlison had the opportunity to put Brazil ahead 38 minutes into the game, but his penalty hit the woodwork. Cunha then converted and gave them the lead right before half time.
Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal helped Spain get the equaliser in the second half, and the battling continued with both sides playing aggressively for possession. Late in the second half, Bryan Gil launched a great attempt to equalise from long range, but his shot hit the crossbar.
In the 108th minute, Malcolm managed to get the better of Jesus Vallejo and slotted past Unai Simon to put Brazil ahead and secure the gold medal for the defending champions yet again.
