Rio 2016: Neymar holds nerve as Brazil win Olympic football gold

Rio de Janeiro Neymar converted the decisive spotkick as Brazil ended their long wait for Olympic football glory with a dramatic 54 11 penalty shootout victory over their 2014 World Cup tormentors Germany here on SaturdayBrazils players including Neymar C celebrate on the podium during the medal presentation following the Rio 2016 Olympic Games mens football gold medal match between Brazil and Germany at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro PicAFPThe Brazil captain held his nerve after the scores were tied 11 at the end of extratime in a pulsating final at the Maracana stadium Xinhua news agency reportedLars Bender was the only player to miss in the shootout with Brazil goalkeeper Weverton punching away the midfielders feeble attemptFC Barcelona forward Neymar had earlier opened the scoring with a superb firsthalf freekick but Germany equalised through a 59thminute strike from captain Max MeyerBrazils victory came barely two years after they crashed out of the World Cup on home soil with a 17 thrashing against Germany in Belo Horizonte a result that was described by the countrys media as a national tragedyAn Olympic Games triumph had been the only major prize to elude the fivetime World Cup winners and their bid for gold in Rio had become something of an obsessionBrazil had previously reached the final on three occasions 1984 1988 and 2012 but had to settle for silver each timeThe Olympic football tournament doesnt quite have the prestige of the World Cup but Brazilian fans have embraced it in a way that other Olympic sports can only envyWhile many events during these Games have been played out in front of empty stands the Selecao has mostly enjoyed nearcapacity crowds at their matches That was again the case on Saturday with 78000 braving the rain to fill the MaracanaAfter starting the Olympic tournament with two goalless draws Brazil won their next three matches by an aggregate of 12 goalsGermanys form had been even more impressive with 21 goals for the tournament including six each from SC Freiburg striker Nils Petersen and Arsenal midfielder Serge GnabryPerhaps understandably Brazil began nervously as a settledlooking Germany took control of possession The visitors nearly went a goal up in the 10th minute when Julian Brandts dipping longrange shot cannoned off the crossbarThe close call seemed to spring the hosts into actionLuans shot after a Douglas Santos cross was cleared off the line and Renato Augusto volleyed wide from a cornerNeymar then sent the Maracana into a frenzy when his curling freekick rebounded in off the under side of the bar It was a goal of the highest quality and prompted wild celebrations in the standsBrandt continued to pose a threat for Germany particularly from set pieces He almost engineered an equalizer when his sumptuous freekick was headed just over the bar by BenderThe visitors continued to press and finally broke through just before the hour after opening up Brazils defence with some slick passingJeremy Toljan found space on the right and whipped a cross into Meyer whose first time effort flew beyond the outstretched arms of goalkeeper WevertonUrged on by their fans Brazil attacked in waves in their attempt to break the deadlockRenato blasted just wide from distance and new Manchester City signing Gabriel Jesus also narrowly missed with a closerange volleyNeymar almost lifted the roof off the stadium when he jinked past an opponent and lobbed a shot wide of the postLuan had a golden chance to score the winner in the sixth minute of extra time but dithered in the area and failed to get a clear shot away Brandt then volleyed over for Germany as play pinballed from end to endSecondhalf substitute Felipe Anderson nearly ended the impasse for Brazil just after the extratime interval when he was played in by Neymar and forced a smart save from Horn But Germany defended resolutely to force the match into a penalty shootout