The decisive phase of the Pre-Olympics begins this Monday (5) with the game between the Brazilian team and Paraguay, at 5 pm (Brasília time), at the Brígido Iriarte Stadium, in Caracas. Soon after, in the same place, Venezuela and Argentina face each other.
The team led by Ramon Menezes finished the first stage of the competition as leader of Group A, with 9 points. It was the highest ranked among all ten teams in the tournament. Paraguay came second in Group B.
Now, in the final quadrangular, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela and Argentina are fighting for two places for the Paris Olympics, which will be held from July 26th to August 11th this year.
READ MORE
++ São Paulo win first major trophy of the year after beating Palmeiras on penalties
++ Barcelona will appeal Vitor Roque’s red card: “It’s a normal game action”
++ Rikelme wants to make history with the Brazilian National Team jersey
“We will face a very strong opponent, who sought to qualify for the decisive phase. We studied the Paraguayan team a lot. We have to enter the field very concentrated and bring our spirit and attitude to this game”, declared Ramon.
In the last match, against Venezuela, the coach rotated the team and gave opportunities to those who had not yet played and those who were not initially selected. This was important for some athletes to rest, thus recovering from the wear and tear of a tournament that will see the Seleção play seven times in a period of 20 days.
According to the competition calendar, this second phase would be played in the city of Barquisimeto. But as the stadium’s pitch in that location is very uneven, Conmebol decided that the remaining Pre-Olympic games would be held in Caracas, where the Brazilian team has been based since arriving in Venezuela.
For this quadrangular, all yellow cards were reset. Therefore, the Brazilian team does not have any player at risk of suspension. Following the Pre-Olympic, the team faces Venezuela, on Thursday (8), and Argentina, on Sunday (11).
