Argentina Takes Down Brazil 3-0 in Olympic Semifinal, Nigeria Awaits in Final

Lionel Messi and his Argentina mates blasted Brazil with three second-half goals.

Argentina fully deserved their 3-0 victory over the Brazilians – no question about that. They were dangerous throughout the second half, in large part due to the brilliance of Lionel Messi. His combination of speed and elusiveness is dazzling, and once he has the ball at his feet it seems to take a minimum of two to three defenders to slow him down. His dance through the box helped set up the second goal, and he put Sergio Leonel Aguero in position to get fouled in the penalty box and allow Juan Riquelme to score from the spot.

Messi seems to get better and more dynamic with each game, and his willingness to run at the defense and force the issue differed greatly from Ronaldinho, who had his moments but was much more stationary when he had the ball (perhaps due to fitness issues). That said, Ronaldinho was unlucky to miss on his second-half free kick that hit the post, and Brazil have been unlucky to get an offside called on the ensuing goal that could have made it 2-1 (TV didn’t show a conclusive may  replay).

At the end of the game the two former Barcelona teammates embraced, but the youthful Messi certainly got the best of his counterpart on this day.

While Aguero scored two goals, it was as ugly a brace as you’ll see. Upon replay, the first goal was surely in off the left shoulder, although it was very difficult to see that since he had the arm so closely tucked in to his body. And his second goal, an open-net tap-in, almost became a memorable miss as he somehow managed to nearly whiff it. His best move of the day was not a goal but the nice little stop-and-go move in the box in the 74^th minute that drew the penalty.

It was a fun second half after the final 30 minutes of the first half were rather uneventful. The first goal finally opened everything up, and it was the Argentineans who took advantage of it. The ending of the game was a bit embarrassing for the Brazilians, as the two straight red-card fouls were committed without much attempt for the ball - although, the first one might have been a little harsh.

At the end of the day, we’re looking at a very entertaining final on Friday between an Argentina team on a roll with a very productive Messi, and a Nigerian squad that can produce plenty of offense. With an Argentinean defense that can be shaky, we’ll hopefully see plenty of scoring – especially since this tournament hasn’t specialized in nil-nil draws.