The gold medal favorites are within one win of fulfilling their lofty expectations.
Brazil's men's Olympic team got two goals from Leandro Damiao and escaped a controversial no-call on a penalty shout to rout South Korea 3-0 and advance to the Olympic gold medal match against Mexico.
Romulo put the Brazilians ahead in the 38th minute, taking a feed from Oscar in transition and beating goalkeeper Beom-Young Lee to the near post. South Korea thought it had a chance to equalize early in the second half, when Bo-Kyung Kim was tripped by Sandro in the box, but referee Pavel Kralovec kept his whistle silent and let play continue.
Leandro Damiao completely tilted the scales back in Brazil's favor soon after, finishing off a cut-back pass from Neymar that was dummied by Marcelo in the 57th minute before capping the scoring seven minutes later. With six goals, the Internacional striker is the leader in the race for the golden boot, having scored in four of Brazil's five matches. As a team, Brazil has scored three goals in every game during this tournament.
South Korea will face Japan in an all-Asian bronze medal match on Friday at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Here are a couple of more items from around the soccer world:
SUAREZ SIGNS LIVERPOOL EXTENSION
Any speculation of Luis Suarez leaving Liverpool for Juventus is officially dead, as the mercurial striker has committed his future to the Reds.
Despite rampant reports suggesting that Suarez' time at Anfield was nearing its end, he signed a long-term contract extension with Liverpool Tuesday after returning to training on the heels of his appearance for Uruguay at the Olympics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"To sign a new contract with Liverpool is unbelievable for me because I am so happy here at both the club and also in the city," Suarez told the club's official website. "That is important for me and I am very happy with my new contract. When you are a kid, everybody wants to play for Liverpool. I am here now and it is a dream for me, and now I am a Liverpool fan."
RANGERS WIN CUP MATCH
Two games for the new Rangers, two wins.
The embattled Scottish club defeated East Fife in a League Cup first-round match Tuesday, with Carlos Bocanegra playing 90 minutes in the 4-0 victory that took place in front of more than 38,000 fans at Ibrox Stadium. The win comes on the heels of a Ramsdens Cup victory at the end of July.
As manager Ally McCoist had stated earlier, Maurice Edu and Alejandro Bedoya were left off the gameday roster entirely for Rangers, as they have both made it clear to McCoist that they want out of the team ahead of its foray into the fourth tier of Scottish soccer.
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What did you think of Brazil's performance? Do you see Brazil or Mexico winning the gold? Are you happy that Suarez is sticking with Liverpool? Do you think he will thrive under manager Brendan Rodgers? What do you think of Rangers' early success?
Share your thoughts below.