The only European team to reach the knockout round reached the final and killed the high-spirited host Japan in the semi-finals.
Asensio killed Japan
I am afraid that these Spanish Olympic players did not expect to stay here until the end of the Olympic Games before coming to Tokyo.
After all, many of them have just finished playing in the Summer European Championship.
I can't help but speculate: for Pedri and Pauterrez, I'm afraid it's more important to finish the Olympic schedule early and then take a break.
In particular, Pedri, whose face is already haggard, should also know that his team Barcelona has just undergone a huge change, and now he can become the most "sellable" player in this team in theory.
Finals, you have to want to win
But of course, since it took 21 years to reach the final, there is no reason to let go of this gold medal, or to play 60 games a year.
In the final, Spain vs. Brazil, can be regarded as the two teams with the strongest comprehensive ability, which is well deserved.
The Spanish start didn't come up with much surprise: goalkeeper Unai Simon, left-back Cucurella, double centre-backs Torres and Garcia, right-back Oscar Hill, midfielders Merino, Martin Suviementi and Pedri. Three forwards Asensio, Oyazavar and Olmo.
6 European Cup players played all the way to the end
Basically, it is the strongest configuration.
Brazil's starters are also basically in place: goalkeeper Santos, four defenders Alana, Diego Carlos, Nino and 38-year-old veteran Alves.
Double-back Gimarães hooked up with Douglas Luiz, and the front trio of Claudinho, Cunha and Anthony put Richarly pine to the front.
Brazil is also hungry for the gold medal
Spain played 120 minutes of overtime in the process of qualifying, the scene was glued, and Brazil only scored one goal after reaching the knockout round, and today's final may be a patient game.
Since it is Brazil versus Spain, the possession of the ball in midfield is of course the focus of both sides.
After the opening, Brazil was more of a 442 defensively, paying attention to both flanks. But when Spain controlled the ball, they were not in a hurry to press high but retreated to the midfield, and sure enough, as expected before the game, they would take stability first.
The scene is very dull
After a 10-minute stalemate, Brazil began to try the first wave of attacks, but the number of troops invested was still limited, mainly because Richarlisson began to frequently pull the edge with his large running range advantage.
Then the two flanks shifted widely, with Anthony on the right side at the end.
So Spain's left-back Cucurella was the most defensively stressed player on the pitch.
In the 15th minute, Spain suddenly released a long pass in a drowsy state, a cross from the right to the back post, Oyasaval's header was near 12 yards, Olmo followed up to grab the point, but thanks to Brazilian centre-back Carlos to fill the empty goal.
This set of collisions was the most common in the first half
It was the first threatening attack since the opening of the two sides.
In the 18th minute, Unai Simon made another bigfoot mistake and was again robbed, Cunha brought Brazil's first shot on goal, but Simon himself saved the ball.
In the 20th minute, Spain began to press high, snatching back the formation that Brazil had just pushed out.
But the formation push forward also gave Brazil room for a counter-attack, and in the 25th minute Arana and Claudinho combined to complete the cross twice, and Richarlisson shot at the side-netting from a small angle!
Richarlisson wasn't too excited
It was The best chance for Brazil, who suddenly turned left after playing on the right for a long time, playing a surprise in the Spanish back defence, and Hill's cross was still a bit careless.
The turning point came in the 35th minute, and it was the result of a low-level mistake by Unai Simon's attack, he did not hit the ball but knocked down the Brazilian player, and the referee looked back at the var prompt and blew the penalty.
But the penalty taker Richarlisson shot the ball high!
Richarlisson lost the shot...
The psychological impact of one in and one out on both sides is amusing.
In the last 5 minutes, Brazil switched 3 defenders to push up the whole line to besiege, and finally seized the negligence of Spain's defense before the end of half-time, Cunha stopped the ball 1 over 2, facing Unai Simon pushing the dead corner to break the goal! 1-0！
The veteran of the ball, Alves, was the most successful, and the tallest, Paul Torres, failed to judge the landing point of the ball and made a mistake.
Finally in!
Brazil led 1-0 at halftime.
The rhythm of the first half was a bit sleepy, which had to do with the emphasis on both sides that the ball went to their feet first, but there was a difference:
Spain prefers to pass the ball with one foot incessantly, while Brazil prefers a local individual breakthrough with the ball.
There were also many fouls on both sides
It also formed a situation in which Spain took control of the rhythm from 20 minutes later and Brazil began to defend and counterattack.
Spain's pass-and-control siege seems to give a glimpse of the style that has been passed down from ten years ago, with the main offensive route being to hit the left rib and then cross or transfer, and finally the attack is done by Asensio on the right.
But the problem for Spain is that they don't have players with great speed and no big centre-forwards who can suppress the penalty area, so it's hard to rip apart Brazil's well-placed defense, and left-back Cucurella is jealous of Anthony's speed and doesn't dare to press too hard.
The flanks could not be opened, and Spain's possession was not very useful
As a result, the flanks are also difficult to open, which makes their attacks look mostly ineffective.
Brazil have three fast strikers, so they have the ability to calm down and fight back, and they do have more threatening attacks and shots.
But that penalty didn't go unpripped, and some didn't, although the penalty was also a bit controversial.
In the final stages of the first half, Brazil realised Spain's weakness and decisively changed the three defenders to press up and play on both sides, and finally it worked, and the goal also came from the left side of the road and the reception of Alves on the right.
Spain has to find a way
There were 19 fouls at halftime, but overall Brazil were more aggressive and wanted to win.
Spain replaced Soler and Bryan Hill, and immediately the speed was fast.
But they pressed on the attack, and the more the gap behind them was hit by Brazil's counterattack.
Missed the golden opportunity again...
In the 51st minute, Charlison's brilliant slam formed a single knife, but was saved by Unai Simon face to face, missing the second chance to score!
Spain continues to speed up and finally reap the results! Substitute Soler crossed from the right in the 60th minute and Oyasaval shoveled a shot at the back post! 1-1！
This shovel is solid!
Oscar Hill and Brian Hill hit the crossbar twice in the 84th and 88th minutes and both sides had to go into extra time.
In extra time, the stalemate reached 107 minutes, and Malcolm's speed forced Vallejo to form a one-handed goal! 2-1！
Lore!
Malcolm Kill!
Congratulations to Brazil for winning the Olympic men's gold medal!
It's hard to say who has the upper hand, and Spain is likely to be more tactically proactive, especially with the naked eye improving in attack in the second half.
Spain didn't have a good time
But this situation lasted only 20 minutes, and the rhythm slowed back after the physical strength decreased. The two times the beam was actually a hard punch from personal ability. In the end, Spain still had only one move: a cross from the flank.
Brazil's entire counter-attack was more threatening, and although it was too inefficient today, they still had a clear physical advantage after 75 minutes.
Malcolm was replaced in extra time, and throughout the extra time he used his speed to completely overwhelm the exhausted Spain and finally won.
Malcolm became a hero
Congratulations to Brazil for winning the Olympic men's gold medal, which is also a feat.
And the long season of tired Spanish players is finally over... But the new season has also begun.