Saudi Arabia U23 1-3 Brazil U23: Richarlison nets brace, Brazil into last 8

Richarlison netted a brace as Brazil advanced to the quarter-finals of the men's Olympic tournament with a 3-1 victory over Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Match Report

Brazil started the day at the top of the standings in Group D, which also includes Germany and Ivory Coast, but needed a win or draw to advance.

The South Americans needed only 14 minutes to take the lead as forward Matheus Cunha nodded the ball past goalkeeper Amin Albukhari from Claudinho's corner but Saudi Arabia made it 1-1 through defender Abdulelah Alamri's header from a free kick.

Brazil striker Richarlison, who netted a hat-trick against Germany in their opener, headed in to make it 2-1 with just 14 minutes remaining.

The Everton forward tucked away his fifth goal at the Games to claim all three points at the Saitama Stadium in stoppage time.

Brazil, without the firepower of Neymar and Gabriel Jesus from the 2016 Games, scored four against Germany but struggled to fire in a goalless draw against Ivory Coast and their inconsistency was on display again.

Guilherme Arana, Diego Carlos and Antony failed to put away first-half chances and Cunha hit the post after the break, as already-eliminated Saudi Arabia frustrated Brazil before Richarlison's brace.

Ivory Coast went through to the last eight at the expense of Germany, securing a 1-1 draw with the 2016 silver medallists at the Miyagi Stadium.

The African side took the lead in the 67th minute when Benjamin Henrichs attempted to make a tackle in the six-yard box and ended up putting the ball into his own net but substitute Eduard Loewen scored with a free kick six minutes later.

Germany piled on the pressure in the dying stages but Ivory Coast held on to finish second in the group.

Ivory Coast and Brazil are the first sides through to the quarter-finals which will all be contested on Saturday.

Line-ups

Saudi Arabia U23 XI: Salman Al Faraj, Yasir Al Shahrani, Salem Al Dawsari, Amin Al Bukhari, Sami Al-Najei, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Ali Al-Hassan, Khalifah Aldawsari, Abdulbasit Hindi, Saud Abdul Hamid

Subs: Mukhtar Ali, Zaid Al Bawardi, Abdullah Tarmin, Turki Al-Ammar, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Nasser Al Omran, Khalid Al Ghannam

Brazil U23 XI: D.Alves, Santos, Carlos, Arana, Matheus Henrique, Guimaraes, Richarlison, Claudinho, Nino, Matheus Cunha, Antony

Subs: Malcom, Bruno Fuchs, Lucão, Martinelli, Reinier, Gabriel Menino, Abner