Olympics Argentina 3-0 Brazil

It promised to be a very even contest between two teams who had only conceded a combined one goal in eight matches so far in the Olympic Games. But, although the first half was tied at 0-0, Argentina went on to thrash Brazil 3-0 to book itself a ticket into the gold medal match of the 2008 Olympic Games, where Los Albicelestes will meet Nigeria (Nigeria thrashed Belgium 4-1 in the other semifinal earlier today).

Argentina Beats Brazil

Argentina proved too strong for the Brazilians, and was well worth its victory, although in reality a 2-1 score-line would have been a much more fair reflection of what occured on the pitch. Sergio Aguero scored twice in five minutes mid-way through the second half (his first goals of the tournament). And team captain Juan Roman Riquelme completed the rout in the 76th minute with a finely executed penalty kick that left Renan with no chance.

Brazil Olympic Dream Over

Before that Brazil had hit the post twice, the second of these being a venomous free-kick from Ronaldinho. Like I explained in my match preview, it was up to Ronaldinho to inspire the Brazilians, but once again the AC Milan midfielder limited himself and had little impact on the match. It was a pity that Thiago Neves played only thirty minutes and was one of two Brazilians who received red cards late on in the match (Lucas was the other player). Brazil will have to wait another four years to possibly win their first Olympic soccer gold medal.

Argentina to Meet Nigeria in Olympic Final

In the end Argentina deserved to win the match, and have demonstrated that they continue to be the team to beat and the overwhelming favorite to win the gold medal (which will be their second in a row after the one they picked up in Athens 2004). Nigeria? Well the African giants played brilliant football in their win over Belgium earlier today, but they are likely to be ousted by a much superior Argentine side, who will be looking for sweet revenge, keeping in mind that Nigeria edged them for the gold medal in the Atlanta Olympics of 1996.

Argentina and Brazil Team Line-ups

Argentina 3: Sergio Romero, Ezequiel Garay, Luciano Fabian Monzon, Pablo Zabaleta, Nicolas Pareja, Fernando Gago, Juan Riquelme, Angel Di Maria, Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero. Coach: Sergio Batista.

Brazil 0: Brito Soares Renan, Marcio Ferreira de Souza Rafinha, Sandro Alex Silva, Junior Vieira da Silva Marcelo, Vinicius Borges Breno, Anderson de Carvalho Andrade Lima Hernanes, Anderson, Lucas Leiva, Ronaldinho, Ribas da Cunha Diego and Augusto Rafael Sobis. Coach: Carlos Dunga.

Goals:

Sergio Aguero (53') Sergio Aguero (58') Juan Riquelme (penalty 76')

Argentina Substitutes:

Jose Ernesto Sosa for Juan Riquelme (90)

Brazil Substitutes:

Augusto Thiago Neves for Anderson de Carvalho Andrade Lima Hernanes (61) da Silva Rodrigues Alexandre Pato for Augusto Rafael Sobis (61) Joao Alves Jo for Ribas da Cunha Diego (71)

Venue: Beijing Workers' Stadium. Attendance: 52,968

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