Olympics

Brazil have found their best form at the 2016 Summer Olympics men’s football tournament at just the right time. Building off their 4-0 hammering of Denmark and 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Colombia, they’ve put in their most impressive performance yet in a 6-0 drubbing of Honduras.

They now await the winner of the Nigeria vs. Germany match in the other semifinal in Sao Paulo later today.

Brazil couldn’t have asked for a better start in front of 70,000 supporters at the world famous Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

When Canada advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2015 Women’s World Cup, it was tempting to put their success down to the benefits of hosting the tournament and the individual brilliance of Kadeisha Buchanan and Christine Sinclair.

They’ve since put those notions to bed by advancing to the bronze medal match of the 2016 Rio Games. In their defiant 2-0 defeat to Germany in the semi-finals, they exemplified the strength of football as a sport of meritocracy — where, on any given day, the footballing superpowers of the world can be defeated by the long shot.

We've already covered many of the terrible things that have gone on before and during the Olympics, but here's a refresher: the Zika virus, deadly bacteria in the water, the police and fire departments can't protect anybody, everything is dirty, the diving pool turned green, it's really hot, a camera fell on some people, the Olympic Village is unfit for human habitation and the Sweden Women's National Team is making soccer unwatchable.

Brazil’s Olympic footballing dream received a massive lift on Saturday. Following the women’s dramatic shootout victory over Australia on Friday, Brazil’s men followed the example of Marta and company to reach the semi-finals of their own competition.

Having struggled through group play with draws against Iraq and South Africa, Neymar and his teammates sprung to life with devastating efficiency against continental rivals Colombia.

The big kick off is here, and, wouldn’t you know it, the stars have aligned in the perfect manner for fans wanting to do nothing but watch football all weekend.

It’s as if Premier League, Liga MX, MLS, Olympic, Bundesliga and La Liga representatives all got together and did this for us. Head to the store tonight, grab all the sustenance you need to survive Saturday and Sunday, and bunker down.

Football is back.

In defense of Hope Solo, her comments about the USA’s loss to Sweden have come in the heat of the moment — fresh off a devastating defeat, it’s understandable that she’s completely lost the plot.

Alright, that’s enough of defending Hope Solo.

The United States women’s national team clawed their way back into their quarter-final match against Sweden, but were unable to find a winner in 120 minutes of action. The lottery of penalties ultimately doomed the four-time gold medalists.

It was the first penalty shootout in the history of women’s soccer at the Olympics, and the USWNT were unable to conquer their nerves as Sweden emerged victorious, 4-3.

The Honduran under-23 side has achieved the previously unthinkable in advancing from Olympic group play over favorites Argentina and Algeria. On Wednesday, Honduras overcame alleged racism by Argentina to claim a vital draw against the South American giants.

Honduran striker Anthony Lozano gave his side the lead with a 75th minute penalty and celebrated by holding his finger to his lips.

After the match, he explained his actions: “I went to shut up an Argentine who made racist comments and I didn’t like it. That’s why I made the ‘silence’ [gesture] after the goal.

When Brazilian under-23 coach Rogerio Micale suggested that Neymar could one day quit the Brazilian national team due to a lack of respect, the parallels that could be drawn with Lionel Messi’s treatment and subsequent retirement from Argentina’s setup were almost too self-evident.