Brazil made things far more stressful than they really should have in their opening match of the 2012 Olympics. Tipped to be medalists, the Selecao want up early and then kept scoring. They led 3-0 at halftime, and for a while it looked as though the match would be a merry romp to a silly scoreline. But Egypt were unbroken, and stormed back in the second half, scoring twice in making Mario Menezes' men very dangerous. Not that that stopped Brazil from winning, but it did make things fairly entertaining.
Brazil Vs. Egypt, 2012 Olympics: Final Score 3-2 As Brazil Win Despite Scare
It didn’t take long for the Brazilian goal parade to arrive. In the sixteenth minute, Manchester United fullback Rafael da Silva ran onto an Oscar pass intended for Hulk in the Egyptian penalty area, but did well enough for himself, taking the ball through a few defenders before slotting home at Ahmed El-Shenawi’s far post.
That first Oscar assist was more or less accidental, but the second was not. The 20-year-old ran onto a header from former Internacional teammate Leandro Damiao, nicking the ball from El-Shenawi just as the goalkeeper was about to claim. The challenged forced the midfielder wide, but instead of going for the open goal from a tight angle, Oscar looked up and caught Leandro unmarked in the centre, the striker netting coolly to make it 2-0.
After a header from Neymar made it three, it seemed as through there was a rout on the cards. The favourites, holding a seemingly insurmountable lead against vastly inferior opposition, switched off and never got back in gear. That allowed Egypt to make the game hugely uncomfortable, with Mohamed Aboutrike smashing in a rebound after Emad Meteab’s snapshot rattled the post.
If anyone was expecting Brazil to wake up after Egypt scored, they were sadly mistake. Having established their lead and scored their goals, the Selecao seemed more interested in pulling off pretty tricks rather than actually scoring goals, and Marcelo nearly made a critical error when he let Mohamed Salah latch onto a back header and go free on goal, eventually making up for the mistake with a flying block.
But Egypt were not to be denied their second. Salah made it happen, ripping the Brazilian defence with a series of jinks before finished left-footed past Neto in the 76th minute. At 3-2, the remaining time was pretty nervy, but Brazil were ultimately able to hold out for a 3-2 win in what was a hugely entertaining game.
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