MARSEILLE, France: Brazil will face the United States in the final of the women's Olympic soccer tournament after beating world champions Spain 4-2 on Tuesday.
Gabi Portilho, Adriana and Kerolin struck in a thrilling semi-final at the Stade de Marseille after an own goal from Irene Paredes had put the two-time silver medalists in front.
“It's a dream, and dreams do come true,” said Kerolin, whose goal in the first of more than 15 minutes of stoppage time helped hold off a late Spanish fightback. “I'm so excited, so excited, so excited and I'm really, really, really impressed with my teammates.”
The win means Brazil great Marta has the chance to end her glittering international career by competing for gold after being suspended for the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
The 38-year-old Marta has said that her sixth Olympics will be her last major tournament with the national team.
“We knew exactly what we came to do today, and it was a final for us today,” said Angelina, who led Brazil's team. “So we were very determined and we just came to win.”
Angelina said the Brazilian team needed to “celebrate a bit” but quickly focus on the final.
“It was a big win. Again, Spain is a great team and we knew that,” she said. “So now we need to rest and we need to study a lot and see what we can do against the United States.”
Spain will not get the chance in Paris to further cement their place at the top of women's football by adding Olympic gold to the World Cup they won last year.
But there is still much to play for at the Paris Games.
“We keep fighting for something super nice and it will continue to be the Olympics until the end,” Spanish forward Jennifer Hermoso said. “A bronze medal is also very hard to get.”
Paredes' sixth-minute own goal put Brazil in control and Portilho doubled the advantage in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time.
Adriana's header in the 71st underlined Brazil's dominance. But with the win seemingly assured, there was much more drama to come.
Salma Paralluelo pulled a goal back for Spain with a header in the 85th and almost immediately Alexia Putella hit the bar with a shot from outside the area.
Carolin made it 4-1 — shooting through Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll's leg.
Paralluelo got his second in the 12th minute of stoppage time, but by then it was too late for Spain to make a comeback.
Brazil will play the four-time champion US women's national team in Saturday's final at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Spain plays Germany in Lyon for bronze.
Brazil has twice been defeated in an Olympic final by the United States – in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
They secured a place in the final for the third time after suffering a 2-0 defeat against Spain in the tournament's group stage.
It was a match that also saw Marta red-carded, with Brazil confirming just hours before kick-off in the semi-final that its appeal against her ban had been rejected.
In the end, Brazil didn't need their best player on this occasion and took a big step towards the final early on after an unfortunate mix-up in Spain's defense when Coll – under pressure from Priscila – attempted a clearance that came back off Paredes and into his own net.
Brazil dominated the chances – repeatedly getting through on goal – and made their superiority count just before half-time through Portilho, who slotted into the bottom corner from Yasmim's cross.
Adriana made it 3-0 after seeing her first-time effort hit the crossbar from six yards and then heading in Portilho's header back over the bar.
Spain, who had battled back from 2-0 down to beat Colombia in the quarter-finals, gave their fans hope through Paralluelo's header. But as Carolin put Brazil 4-1 ahead, a second for Paralluelo proved to be little more than a consolation.
“We showed the world that we have a young team and a team that has a very good tactical understanding, that competes, that will always be like this – competitive,” Brazil coach Arthur Elias said. “Brazil in women's football is a source of great pride.”
