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Marta outsmarts Super Falcons
Playing into the evening shadows of Bordeaux, Nigeria and Brazil went head to head in their Olympic football campaign of group C.
Brazil, who are viewed as the favourites for the gold medal by many faced a stern first half from the Nigerians.
Despite their moments of individual brilliance and smart combination play, it was Brazil who broke the deadlock in the closing moments of the first half.
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18:41 - 25.07.2024
Paris 2024: Noah Lyles, Kishane Thompson, and the five favourites tipped for Olympic 100m glory
Since Usain Bolt hung his spikes in 2017, there hasn’t been an overwhelming favorite for the 100m title at a major championship. With the same scenario this year, at least five are favourites for the Olympic gold with Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson leading the list.
Keeping the ball well while moving forward, Brazil's gears seemed to be well greased as they found themselves in the Nigerian danger area quite often.
Marta received a ball from the wide area before sitting a couple of defenders down then smashing at net powerfully. The goal was ruled out after the video assistant review declared offside during build up.
When Nigeria restarted the game, Brazil were right on their heels pressing to win the ball. An error was forced and it was Marta who was at the end of a lose ball.
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18:12 - 25.07.2024
Paris 2024: Nigeria vs Brazil - Former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr spotted cheering Super Falcons
Gernot Rohr who managed the Super Eagles for five years was pictured in the stands as Nigeria's Super Falcons faced Brazil in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
She lofted the ball smoothly over the Super Falcon defenders to find her teammate, Gabi Nunes. A strong shot that bounced into the net off the crossbar.
In the second half, Nigeria were supressed to playing inside their own half for most of the 45 minutes.
Marta proved a menace when her shot from a far tight angle flew over the goalkeeper and bounced off the post. Her passes were inch perfect moving forward and the Nigerians struggled to answer her questions.
Towards the end of the game, Nigeria tuned on their turbo and started to get chances to shoot at goal. The Nigerian women played tirelessly trying to find a way to score, but all they could get were chances on target.
Next Nigeria will face Spain while Brazil will face Japan for round 2. For now, Nigeria will head to regroup whereas Brazil enjoy the fruits of their labour and fight on to maintain a clean record in the group stage fixtures.
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