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3 reasons you have to watch the Mexico-Brazil Olympic soccer final
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Giovani dos Santos, who plays for lays for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Mexican national team, will sit out Saturday's big game.
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Check out KPCC’s "L.A. To London” series, exploring Southland connections to the 2012 Summer Olympics. View the series and follow it on Twitter at #latolondon.
UPDATE: (Spoilers below)
Mexico beat Brazil, to obtain their first Olympic soocer gold.
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Saturday sees the big faceoff between Mexico and Brazil for Olympic gold in Men's Soccer, a game that is sure to be a big draw for fans of the two teams.
If you're not, why should you care? Alejandro Navarro, sports anchor for local Telemundo station KVEA, spoke with KPCC about the big game and gave us his big three reasons why you should:
1. HISTORY WILL BE MADE: No matter what team wins, this will mark an Olympic first: Mexico and Brazil’s soccer teams have never won Olympic gold medals.
Olympic gold is the only trophy missing for five-time World Cup champion Brazil. “Brazil has tried a lot of times to win this medal,” said Navarro. It’s a bit ironic, Navarro adds, because “they are the best in soccer.”
This is also the first time Mexico has made it to an Olympic final.
2. ONE OF THE BEST TEAMS EVER: Mexico has proven itself a big winner, with coach Luis Fernando Tena leading his team to several victories.
“For the Pan-American Games, they beat Uruguay for the finals, and also the tournaments in France, which they have never won before,” Navarro said.
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And they have a good shot at Olympic gold, even though key player
Giovani dos Santos is out of Saturday’s match because of a knee injury.
3. IT WILL BE BEAUTIFUL. AND INTENSE: Usually soccer teams will try to keep a 0-0 score to keep the suspense up. But that won’t be the case tomorrow. As soon as the referee blows that initial whistle, it’ll be an intense game, said Navarro. Both teams are in it to win it, and there won't be a dull moment.
“All the pressure is going to be on [Brazil,]” said Navarro. “It’s going to be a beautiful match against them because they have been in so many tournaments.”
Convinced?
The match will air live at 7 a.m. PST on NBC Sports Network, Telemundo, NBC Olympic Soccer Channel and at nbcolympics.com.
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