Brazil And Mexico Cruise To Gold Medal Game; Japan And South Korea To Contest Bronze

For the opening stages of the first half. It didn’t look as though we’d see Brazil dominate. South Korea had most of the ball and some very good chances to score, and were unlucky not to have been given a penalty when Juan kicked Ji Don-Wong in the head following an error from goalkeeper Gabriel.

But eventually the favourites managed to close up the gaps in midfield and began to dominate possession, with Leandro Damiao beginning to click. A pair of through balls to the Internacional striker exposed the weaknesses in the South Korean defence, and the second resulted in a collision between the centre forward and Korean goalkeeper Lee Bum-Young.

So, 1-0 Brazil, but if South Korea can play like they did in the opening stages of the half, there’s no reason they can’t get back into this.

The banks of red shirts collapsed inwards, protecting Lee Bum-Young’s goal from those three threats. But none of those were options were in Oscar’s plans. Instead, the 20-year-old threaded an excellent ball to Romulo, who making a good run down the right, and the midfielder met the pass first time with a low shot just inside the near post.

It wasn’t a very good shot, though, and Lee should have had it. The ball went under both his outstretched foot and his glove before nestling home to give Brazil the lead. That’s some very poor goalkeeping. The Selecao won’t care.

The most dangerous moment of the game, as far as Brazil are concerned, came in the 15th minute, when Gabriel decided to make a thoroughly ill-conceived challenge for the ball, which popped up for Ji Dong-Wong. Juan got the ball partially away from the Sunderland striker by kicking him in the head (which isn’t a foul no, apparently), and Thiago Silva managed to scramble the ball away. That was an incredibly close call, and I can’t imagine that Brazil are very happy right now. They have to get the ball and hold it, or they’re going to lose this match.

Mexico have had more of the ball and have arguably looked like the better side, but their finishing has not been great outside of Fabian’s goal. Dos Santos, in particular, has looked dangerous but has missed the target with a couple of very solid half-chances.