On The Men’s Side It Is Argentina Vs Nigeria
August 20, 2008 • Olympic Men's Soccer, Results
It looked on paper to be a battle of the soccer titans when Brazil and Argentina met in the semifinals of the Olympic soccer tournament. Be the gauchos were just too much for Ronaldhino and his Brazil teammates. Lionel Messi and his Argentinian teammates swarmed all over Brazil and routed them 3-0 to advance for the second Olympics in a row to the Gold Medal game.
Sergio Aguero scored goals six minutes apart in the second half and later set up another to lead Argentina to the 3-0 win.
Aguero opened the scoring for the defending champions by chesting in a left-side cross in the 52nd minute, then scored again from two meters (yards) on a cross from the right in the 58th. Aguero also set up a 76th-minute penalty kick that was converted by Juan Roman Riquelme.
Argentina will try to become the first country in 40 years to win back-to-back gold medals. Hungary was the last country to capture consecutive golds in men’s soccer in 1964 and 1968. Great Britain (1908, 1912) and Uruguay (1924, 1928) are the other back-to-back winners.
Nigeria advanced with a 4-1 victory over Belgium in Tuesday’s early semifinal. The Belgians had nothing to counter the flair and speed of the Nigerian team. One goal looked to be had at the expense of a bad call (offsides) but no one could argue the other three Nigerian goals and the skill that produced them.
“It’s just wonderful. We didn’t expect to score four goals in semifinal, and my players did a good job,” Nigerian coach Samson Siasia said after the match.
The Flying Eagles dominated the match from the beginning to the end with better organization and accurate passes. By their superior ball-control and flamboyant breaks of their opponent’s defense line, Wingers Peter Odemwingie from Russia’s Moscow Lokomotiv and Solomon Okoronkwo from German Berlin Hertha poised several serious challenges to the goal, and finally scored one at 17 minute as defender Olubayo Adefemi sent the ball into the net after a corner kick.
The final is Saturday at Beijing National Stadium.
Tags: olympics soccer, Beijing Olympic Games, Olympic games, Olympic soccer
