Brazil will take on Mexico for the Olympic Gold in soccer
August 8, 2012
On Tuesday, Brazil defeated South Korea on the football field at the 2012 London Olympics soccer semifinals, which means they will now have the chance to compete for the gold medal. According to The Associated Press, Brazil will go up against Mexico, which is competing in the final for the first time in Olympic history. Brazil's last chance to compete for the gold was at the 1988 Seoul Games, but the team finished in second place. In 1996 and 2008, they came close with third-place wins.
"It's been a long time since we made it to this final and that shows how hard it is to get here," Brazil's coach Mano Menezes told the AP. "This group deserves a lot of credit and they know that we are closer to finally winning the gold."
Brazil showed a bit of weakness on the field against South Korea in the beginning of the match, but the players turned things around shortly into the game and finished with a 3-0 victory. The South American team may have another advantage over their competitors, as one of Mexico's star players suffered an injury recently, NewsDay reports. Giovani dos Santos was benched for the team's semifinal match against Japan due to a muscle injury, and coach Luis Fernando Tena told the news source he is unsure if dos Santos will be playing in the final. Despite the star athlete sitting out the semifinal game, Mexico still defeated Japan 3-1.
The final match between Mexico and Brazil, which will be held on Saturday at Wembley Stadium, is sure to be exciting. Soccer fans can make calls to Brazil with international phone cards to discuss the upcoming game with their friends.