OLYMPICS /
Team China
Brazil defeats host China 3-0 in Olympic men's soccer
Xinhua/Agencies
Updated: 2008-08-13 22:06
Ronaldinho (R) of Brazil celebrates with his teammates after Diego scored against China in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games first round Group C men's football match at the Qinghuangdao Olympic Stadium on August 13, 2008.[ Agencies]
|
QINHUANGDAO--Brazilian defeated host China 3-0 in their last group match of the Olympic men's soccer tournament here on Wednesday.
Brazil thus advanced to the finals with an unbeaten record from Group C.
The loss for China also marked the fourth consecutive time that host country failed to progress to the knockout stage.
Brazil's first goal came in the 18th minute when Alves Diego ran after a through pass by Ronaldinho, and avoided Chinese goalkeeper Liu Zhenli on their one-on-one encounter before he coolly sent the ball into the empty net.
In the 68th minute, Han Peng, a usual striker but played a defensive position in today's match, received a yellow card after pulling down Brazil's striker Sobis Rafael.
Brazil's Neves Thiago then extended their lead in the awarding free kick with his left-foot shot. The goalkeeper, however, couldn't make any response to his shot.
In the 73rd minute, Thiago again enlarged the winning with a left-footed low shot from outside the penalty box.
The only threat to Brazil's goalkeeper came in the 37th minute, when Jiang Ning dodged Brazil's defenders and struck from the left side, but his effort was warded off by defender Silva Thiago's outstretched right foot.
