The Summer Olympics continue as the soccer prelminaries heat up when host Brazil takes on Denmark as part of the Rio Games in Group A prelminary action.
The home team is sure to have plenty of support when these teams take the pitch in Rio de Janeiro. Denmark has earned four points thus far to sit atop the Group A standings, while Brazil has two points to tie it with Iraq for second and South Africa enters the day in last place with one point.
In this tournament, Denmark has handed South Africa a 1-0 loss and had a 0-0 tie with Iraq. Brazil, meanwhile, has struggled to find the net, having 0-0 ties with both Iraq and South Africa to this point.
South Africa and Iraq will also go head-to-head in at the very same time that this game occurs.
Brazil has won five World Cups, but has yet to take home Olympic gold. Four years ago, it settled for the silver medal as Mexico took hom the gold at the 2012 London Games. In the 2008 Bejing games, Brazil went home with the bronze.
The country is also looking to avenge an embarrassing 7-1 defeat at the hands of Germany on its home field two years ago at the World Cup in the semifinals.
A lot of the emphasis has been placed on Neymar, but Brazil coach Rogerio Micale heaped praise on the superstar.
''Neymar will become the best player in the world, we need to respect him,'' Micale said, according to Sky Sports. ''He is young. I know that at times he behaves in a way that we may not like, but at his age, wouldn't we do the same things that he does, having everything that he has?''
Micale also put the emphasis on getting the victory to keep the host's country's dreams of an elusive gold medal alive.
''If we don't respect our best players, they might not want to be with us anymore,'' Micale said. ''We only need a simple victory to reach the next round and remain alive in the fight for a medal,'' he added. ''We need to stay calm. We only depend on ourselves.''
Event Details & Live Stream
Matchup: Brazil vs. Denmark Group A men's Olympic soccer preliminary match
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Place: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed for free here.
The Iraq vs. South Africa match can be live streamed for free here.
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