London Olympics 2012 Football Final: Brazil vs Mexico-Preview

The Samba stars have reached the final twice in the past, in 1984 and then four years later, but both times they could only get silver medals.

London: Brazil`s starting XI should include few changes, however left-back Alex Sandro, who played in a central midfield role against South Korea could be replaced by Hulk as Oscar sits back in a deeper role.

Neymar and Olympics top scorer Leandro Damiao will lead the line in attack with the Internacional man holding off the presence of Alexandre Pato throughout the tournament to keep his place. New Paris Saint-Germain signing Lucas Moura will be pushing for a starting place after a number of encouraging cameo appearances; however he will likely be used from the bench if needed. Since their opening day 0-0 draw with South Korea, Mexico have settled with a fairly consistent starting line-up and that looks likely to continue in the final. The three over-age players Carlos Salcido, Jose Corona and Oribe Peralta will start for El Tri, however Giovani dos Santos has been ruled out with a foot injury, meaning Javier Cortes could take his place alongside Javier Aquino and Marco Fabian in the advanced midfield positions. In the semi-final victory over Japan, right-back Israel Jimenez struggled with a knock late on but should be fine to start against Mano Menezes` side. STATS • Leandro Damiao is the tournament’s top scorer with six goals. • Brazil have won all of their games en route to the final, scoring three goals in each match. • This is the first time Brazil have reached the Olympic final since 1988 when players such as Romario and Bebeto played. • The Selecao have never won gold in men`s Olympic football, settling for silver in 1984 and again four years later. • Mexico and Brazil met in a warm-up match just prior to the tournament, and Mexico came out on top with a 2-0 win. • With 15 and 10 goals, Brazil and Mexico are respectively the tournament’s two top-scoring teams, while Giovani and Co. have managed one more than Menezes` men in the knockout phase. • Carlos Salcido will be the most experienced player on the pitch on Saturday with the 32-year-old racking up 103 caps at full international level. • In the last eight meetings between these two sides, both teams have four wins apiece, with two of Brazil`s victories coming in friendlies to Mexico`s one. Ryan Benson/Goal.com