Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament final explained

2012 Summer Olympic football final
Event:Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament
Team1:Brazil
Team1score:1
Team2:Mexico
Team2score:2
Stadium:Wembley Stadium
City:London
Referee:Mark Clattenburg (Great Britain)
Attendance:86,162[1]
Previous:2008
Next:2016

The 2012 Summer Olympic football final was a football match that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom on 11 August 2012 to determine the winner of the men's football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics. It was the 23rd final of the men's football tournament at the Summer Olympics, a quadrennial tournament contested for the men's under-23 national teams of FIFA to decide the Olympic champions.

In front of a crowd of 86,162, Mexico won their first Olympic gold medal in modality, beating Brazil, 2–1. It was Mexico's first major title since the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup on home soil and their first Olympic gold medal in football, both wins involved Mexico's final meeting with Brazil in these events.[2] As of the 2024 tournament, this was the most recent Olympic football final to end in regulation time (90 minutes).

Venue

The final was played at Wembley Stadium in the Borough of Brent in London, United Kingdom.

The current Wembley Stadium opened in 2007 on the site of the original stadium, the demolition of which took place between 2002 and 2003.[3] [4] It is owned by The Football Association and serves as England's national football stadium.

The original stadium, formerly known as the Empire Stadium, opened in 1923 and served as the Olympic Stadium for the 1948 Summer Olympics as well as its football tournament, including the final. It then hosted matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, including the final, which saw hosts England beat West Germany 4–2 after extra time, and at UEFA Euro 1996, including the final, in which Germany defeated the Czech Republic 2–1 after extra time via the golden goal rule. Wembley also hosted every final of the FA Cup from the White Horse final of 1923 to 2000.

Route to the final

BrazilRoundMexico
OpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResult
3–2Match 10–0
3–1Match 22–0
3–0Match 31–0
Group C winnersFinal standingsGroup B winners
OpponentResultKnockout stageOpponentResult
3–2Quarter-finals4–2
3–0Semi-finals3–1

Brazil

The Brazil national under-23 football team led by Neymar advanced as favorite to the final against Mexico, after 5 victories in 5 matches. Brazil, under coach Mano Menezes, beat Egypt, Belarus and New Zealand in the preliminary round, Honduras in the quarter-finals and South Korea in the semi-finals. Before the Games, they beat Great Britain 2–0 in a friendly game.[5]

Mexico

Mexico qualified by advancing to the final of the 2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, they topped Group B winning all their matches. They were drawn in Group B along with Gabon, South Korea and Switzerland. Mexico started with a 0–0 draw against South Korea.[6] [7] In their second match, Mexico came out with a 3–0 triumph over Gabon; with Giovani dos Santos netting the two goals.[8] Mexico then confirmed top spot in the group by beating Switzerland 1–0, with a goal from Oribe Peralta in the 69th minute. In doing so, Mexico advance to the knockout stage for the first time since 1996.[9]

In the quarter-finals played at Wembley Stadium, Mexico struggled against a very motivated and disciplined Senegal, who had finished second in Group A. Mexico went up 2–0, with Jorge Enríquez scoring in the 10th minute and Javier Aquino in the 62nd minute. Moussa Konaté came up with the first of Senegal. Ibrahima Baldé equalised seven minutes later, making it 2–2. Ihe first period of extra time, dos Santos at the 98th minute made it 3–2, in favor of Mexico. Héctor Herrera sealed the victory scoring at the 109th minute.[10] [11] In the semifinals, they came back from a 0-1 deficit to beat Japan 3-1 with goals from Peralta, Marco Fabián and Javier Cortés.[12]

Match

Summary

Mexico's Oribe Peralta opened the scoring in the first 29 seconds of the game, being assisted by Javier Aquino, making it the fastest goal of the Olympics and in any FIFA tournament final. Peralta scored the second goal in the 75th minute, assisted by a Fabián free-kick. Hulk discounted late.[13] [14]

Details

GK 1 Gabriel
DF 2
DF 3 Thiago Silva (c)
DF 4 Juan Jesus
DF 6
DF 15
MF 5
MF 8 Rômulo
MF 10 Oscar
FW 9 Leandro Damião
FW 11 Neymar
Substitutions:
FW 12
FW 17
FW 7
Manager:
Mano Menezes
GK 1 José Corona (c)
DF 2
DF 3 Carlos Salcido
DF 4 Hiram Mier
DF 5 Dárvin Chávez
DF 13
MF 6 Héctor Herrera
MF 11
MF 14 Jorge Enríquez
FW 8 Marco Fabián
FW 9
Substitutions:
MF 16
DF 15
FW 12
Manager:
Luis Tena
Assistant referees


Stephen Child (Great Britain)
Simon Beck (Great Britain)
Fourth official


Bakary Gassama (Gambia)

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brazil – Mexico . https://web.archive.org/web/20120814234153/http://www.fifa.com/mensolympic/matches/round=256027/match=300197697/report.html . dead . August 14, 2012 . FIFA.com . Fédération Internationale de Football Association . 11 August 2012 . 11 August 2012.
  2. Web site: Mexico Has Its Moment in Upset Over Brazil . . 11 August 2012.
  3. News: Final whistle for Wembley's towers . . 1 September 2016. 26 October 2019. 12 May 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060512141301/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2735143.stm. live.
  4. News: Gates' Microsoft Becomes Wembley Stadium Backer . Forbes . 20 October 2005 . 26 October 2019 . 13 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180613185544/https://www.forbes.com/2005/10/20/microsoft-wembley-sponsorship-cx_cn_1020autofacescan08.html . live.
  5. News: Irving . Duncan . 11 August 2012 . Mexico Wins Soccer Medal . 1 . The New York Times . 19 March 2022.
  6. Web site: South Korea, Mexico open with draw. ESPN.com.
  7. Web site: London 2012: Mexico forced to settle for South Korea stalemate. BBC.com.
  8. Web site: Mexico Vs. Gabon, 2012 Olympics: Giovani Dos Santos The Hero For El Tri. SBNation.com.
  9. Web site: Mexico vs. Switzerland Olympic Soccer: Score, Grades, Twitter Reaction and More. BleacherReport.com.
  10. Web site: Mexico vs Senegal Olympic Soccer 2012: Grades, Twitter Reaction & Analysis. BleacherReport.com.
  11. Web site: Mexico Vs. Senegal, 2012 Olympics: Final Score 4-2 After Extra Time, With El Tri Through. SBNation.com.
  12. News: Press Association . 7 August 2012 . London 2012: Mexico beat Japan to reach first ever Olympic football final . 1 . The Guardian . 28 March 2021.
  13. Web site: Winter . Henry . Brazil 1-2 Mexico: Olympic men's football final – as it happened . 12 August 2012 . The Telegraph.
  14. Web site: Mexico 2-1 Brazil: Olympic final match report . 12 August 2012 . The Guardian.