Brasilia, August 11: Brazil entered the knockout stage of the Rio Olympics defeating Denmark 4-0 in footbal.
Gabriel Barbosa broke the ice in the 26th minute after receiving a pass from left winger Douglas Santos. Premier League side Manchester City’s newcomer Gabriel Jesus made it 2-0 in the 40th minute with a shot from close range on Wednesday, reports Xinhua. Brazil created many chances in the second half, thanks to their great technical skills. Luan and Barbosa each scored once and sealed the victory for the hosts.
In the other game in Group A, Iraq held South Africa 1-1 and both were eliminated in the preliminary round.
Shinya Yajima helped Japan beat Sweden 1-0 in Salvador but both teams got eliminated in the Group stage. Colombia beat group winner Nigeria 2-0 to enter the knockout stage in Group B.
In Group C, Germany smashed Fiji 10-0 to reach the quarterfinals while South Korea edged past defending champions Mexico 1-0 to qualify as the group winner.In Group D, Honduras drew with Argentina 1-1. Both sides missed a penalty each but Antony Lozano won his team’s second penalty chance to break the deadlock in the 73rd minute.
Mauricio Martinez produced the equaliser before the final whistle but could not save his team. Portugal tied Algeria 1-1 and entered the next stage as group winners.
In the other match, the Honduran men’s football squad reached the Olympics knockout stage once again with a 1-1 draw in Group D action against Argentina, who needed a win to avoid going home early.
Argentina, which won Olympic men’s soccer gold at the 2004 Games in Athens and four years later in Beijing, was a mere shadow of those teams on Wednesday.
Honduras, which reached the quarterfinals of the London Olympics, now has backed up that result by advancing to the knockout stage in Rio.
As the second-place team in Group D, it will next take on Group C winner South Korea on Aug. 13 in Belo Horizonte.
The quarterfinals will begin on Saturday, with Brazil facing Colombia, Denmark playing Nigeria, Portugal taking on Germany and South Korea meeting Honduras.
