MARSEILLE, France: Brazil will face the United States in the final of the Olympic women's soccer tournament after beating world champions Spain 4-2 on Tuesday.
Gabi Portillo, Adriano and Caroline scored in a thrilling semi-final at the Stade de Marseille after Irene Paredes scored an own goal to put the two-time silver medalists ahead.
“It's a dream and dreams do come true,” said Carolin, whose first goal in more than 15 minutes of added time helped hold off Spain's late fightback. “I'm so excited, so excited, so excited, and I'm really, really, really impressed with my teammates.”
Victory means Brazil's great Marta has the chance to cap off her glittering international career by challenging for gold after being disqualified for the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Marta, 38, said her sixth Olympics will be her last major tournament with the national team.
“We just knew what we came to do today and it was the final for us today,” said Angelina, who leads the Brazilian national team. “So we were very determined and came straight for the win.”
Angelina said the Brazilian team needed to “celebrate a little” but quickly focused on the final.
“It was a great victory. Again, Spain is an amazing team and we knew that,” she said. “So now we need to rest, we need to learn a lot and see what we can do against the USA.”
Spain will miss the opportunity 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 the Games in Paris still have a lot to play for.
“We keep fighting for something super nice and it's going to be the Olympics until the end,” Spain forward Jennifer Hermosa said. “The bronze medal is also very difficult to get.”
A Paredes own goal in the sixth minute put Brazil in control, and Portillo doubled the lead in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time.
Adriano's header in the 71st underlined Brazil's dominance. But with victory seemingly assured, there was much more drama to come.
Salma Paraluela pulled one back for Spain with a header in the 85th minute, and almost immediately Alexia Putelos hit the post with a shot from outside the box.
Karolin made the score 4:1 — hitting the legs of Spain's goalkeeper Cat Kohl.
Paraluela got a second goal in the 12th minute of stoppage time, but by then it was too late for Spain to fight back.
Brazil will play four-time champion USA Women's in Saturday's final at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Spain played Germany in Lyon for bronze.
The Brazilian national team beat the USA twice in the final of the Olympic Games – in Athens-2004 and in Beijing-2008.
They booked their place in the finals for the third time after they overcame a 2-0 defeat to Spain in the group stage of the tournament.
It was a game in which Marta also received a red card, and just hours before the semi-final began, Brazil received confirmation that their appeal against their ban had been rejected.
In the end, Brazil didn't need their greatest player on this occasion and took a big step towards the final early on after a disastrous sparring in Spain's defense when Kohl – under pressure from Priscilla – tried to clear a ball that deflected off Paredes and into her own networks.
Brazil dominated the chances – with numerous shots on goal – and took their lead just before the break thanks to Partil, who fired into the bottom corner from Yasmim's cross.
Adriano made it 3-0 after seeing her initial strike hit the post from six yards before heading home after Portillo nodded across goal.
Spain, who came from 2-0 down to beat Colombia in the quarter-finals, gave their fans hope through Paraluel's header. But when Caroline put Brazil 4-1 ahead, Paraluel's second 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 competitive,” Brazil coach Artur Elias said. “Brazil in women's football is a source of great pride.”
