Football at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament final

2020 Summer Olympic men's football final

International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama hosted the final
Event	Football at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament
Brazil Spain 2 1
After extra time
Date	7 August 2021 (2021-08-07)
Venue	International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
Referee	Chris Beath (Australia)
Attendance	0 [a]
Weather	Overcast 27 °C (81 °F) 92% humidity [1]
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The 2020 Summer Olympic football gold medal match was a football match to determine the gold medal winners of men's football tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The match was the 25th final of the men's football tournament at the Olympics, a quadrennial tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA to decide the Olympic champions. The match was held at International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan, on 7 August 2021. ^[2] It was played between the defending champions Brazil and Spain. ^[3]

Background

Since the Olympic men's football was restricted to an under-23 tournament in 1992, Brazil had played in two gold medal matches, losing to Mexico in 2012 before prevailing at home in 2016. Spain also had played twice in such occasion, winning in 1992 – also when they hosted the Olympics – and losing to Cameroon in 2000.

Albeit this was the first meeting between Brazil and Spain at the Olympic gold medal match, their senior and age-group teams had met in many finals before. The senior met in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Final, in which Brazil beat the then-world champions 3–0. The two countries also met in the 1985 and 2003 FIFA World Youth Championships, as well as the final of the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship; Brazil won in all occasions.

Venue

Further information: Nissan Stadium (Yokohama)

The final was held at the International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama, located in the Kanagawa Prefecture.

The stadium had hosted numerous international sporting events. It hosted a semi-final and the final of the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, as well as three matches of the 2002 FIFA World Cup including the final; Brazil's senior team won the latter. ^[4]

Referee

The referee in charge of the match was Australian Chris Beath, a native of Queensland, who had officiated two previous matches in the tournament; Group A match between Mexico and France and quarter final match between Brazil and Egypt. Beath had two assistant linesmen also from Australia. ^[5]

Route to the final

Brazil		Round	Spain
Opponent	Result	Group stage	Opponent	Result
Germany	4–2	Match 1	Egypt	0–0
Ivory Coast	0–0	Match 2	Australia	1–0
Saudi Arabia	3–1	Match 3	Argentina	1–1
Group D winners Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Brazil 3 7 2   Ivory Coast 3 5 3   Germany 3 4 4   Saudi Arabia 3 0 Source: TOCOG and FIFA		Final standings	Group C winners Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Spain 3 5 2   Egypt 3 4 3   Argentina 3 4 4   Australia 3 3 Source: TOCOG and FIFA
Opponent	Result	Knockout stage	Opponent	Result
Egypt	1–0	Quarter-finals	Ivory Coast	5–2 ( a.e.t. )
Mexico	0–0 ( a.e.t. )(4–1 p)	Semi-finals	Japan	1–0 ( a.e.t. )

Match

Details

7 August 2021 (2021-08-07)

20:30 JST

Brazil	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Spain
Matheus Cunha 45+2' Malcom 108'	Report (TOCOG) Report (FIFA)	Oyarzabal 61'

International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama

Attendance: 0 ^[a]

Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

Brazil [6]

Spain [6]

GK 1 Aderbar Santos RB 13 Dani Alves (c) CB 15 Nino CB 3 Diego Carlos LB 6 Guilherme Arana  20' CM 5 Douglas Luiz  89' CM 8 Bruno Guimarães RW 11 Antony  112' LW 20 Claudinho  106' CF 9 Matheus Cunha  64'  91' CF 10 Richarlison  31'  114' Substitutes: GK 12 Brenno DF 4 Ricardo Graça MF 2 Gabriel Menino  112' MF 18 Matheus Henrique MF 19 Reinier  106' FW 7 Paulinho  114' FW 17 Malcom  91' Head coach: André Jardine

GK 1 Unai Simón RB 18 Óscar Gil  91' CB 12 Eric García  27' CB 4 Pau Torres LB 3 Marc Cucurella  91' DM 6 Martín Zubimendi  112' CM 8 Mikel Merino (c)  46' CM 16 Pedri RF 7 Marco Asensio  46' CF 11 Mikel Oyarzabal  104' LF 19 Dani Olmo Substitutes: GK 13 Álvaro Fernández DF 5 Jesús Vallejo  91' DF 20 Juan Miranda  91' MF 14 Carlos Soler  46' MF 15 Jon Moncayola  112' MF 21 Bryan Gil  105+1'  46' FW 9 Rafa Mir  104' Head coach: Luis de la Fuente

Assistant referees: Anton Schetinin (Australia) George Lakrindis (Australia) Fourth official: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal) Reserve assistant referee: Rui Tavares (Portugal) Video assistant referee: Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar) Assistant video assistant referees: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore) Chris Penso (United States)

Post-match

Following the final, Brazil became only the fifth team to retain the Olympic title in men's football, after Great Britain, Uruguay, Hungary, and Argentina. In winning the tournament, Brazil's captain Dani Alves extended his own record of being the most decorated footballer in history with 43 career team honours. ^{[7] [8]}

Notes

1. Played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

References

1. "Start List: Match 28, BRA vs ESP" (PDF). Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
2. "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Football Tournament: Match Schedule" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
3. "Brazil 2 Spain 1". BBC Sport. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
4. "INTERNATIONAL STADIUM YOKOHAMA". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
5. Monteverde, Marco (6 August 2021). "Olympics: Chris Beath to referee men's football decider, assisted by fellow Aussies Anton Shchetinin and George Lakrindis". News.com.au . Retrieved 21 June 2022.
6. "Tactical Starting Line-up: Match 28, BRA vs ESP" (PDF). Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
7. Ronay, Barney (7 August 2021). "Brazil edge Spain in men's Olympic football final thanks to Malcom's magic". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
8. Harris, Rob (7 August 2021). "At 38, Alves helps Brazil to soccer gold by beating Spain". Associated Press. Retrieved 20 August 2021.