Olympic Football Final: Brazil vs Mexico preview

August 10, 2012
By: Frank Beresford

Men’s Football Tournament at the 2012 Olympics reaches its conclusion with Brazil and Mexico chasing their first ever Olympic gold at Wembley Stadium in London.

Even before the tournament started, Mano Menezes’ side were seen as one of the main candidates for the title, having arrived to Great Britain with a star-studded squad.

The Seleccao duly delivered, winning all five games and scoring 15 goals in the process, so no wonder they are now just 1.57 (4/7) with Ladbrokes to win the final in regular time.

While Neymar and Hulk have been pretty impressive up front, it was Tottenham target Leandro Damiao who stole the show, scoring no less than 6 goals in 5 games at the 2012 Olympics. The 23-year-old is 2.50 (3/2) at bet365 to continue his scoring run.

Following the 3-0 semi-final win over very good South Korea side, Brazil will fancy their chances in this match, even if the pressure will be on them given that Mexico have nothing to lose.

Star forward Hulk should return to the starting line-up after being rested in the semis, with Alex Sandro dropping out.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Neto – Rafael, Thiago Silva, Juan, Marcelo – Sandro, Romulo, Oscar – Hulk, Damiao, Neymar.

Mexico arrived to the 2012 Summer Games with excellent reputation, having won the Pan American Games and Toulon Youth Tournament with virtually the same squad that traveled to the Olympics.

El Tri progressed from the group stage without conceding a single goal, but they were made to work hard for victories over Senegal and Japan in the knockout stages.

Luis Tena’s side showed a lot of character by beating Senegal after extra time and defeating Japan after coming from a goal down, so they certainly cannot be written off before the clash with Brazil.

El Tri may be the underdogs here, but odds of 6.50 (11/2) offered at William Hill on away win could be worth a shot.

Luis Tena is unlikely to make changes to the side that largely impressed against Japan, meaning Oribe Peralta and Giovani dos Santos will form the attacking partnership.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Corona – Jimenez, Mier, Reyes, Chavez – Fabian, Enriquez, Salcido, Fabian – Dos Santos, Peralta.

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