SHENYANG, China — Strikers Moussa Dembele and Kevin Mirallas scored a goal each to give Belgium a 2-0 win over nine-man China, putting the host in difficult position to advance in the Olympic soccer tournament.
Dembele opened the scoring in the eighth minute, escaping from three defenders inside the area before firing a low left-footer past China goalkeeper Qiu Shengjiong. Mirallas sealed the win with a shot from the top of the area as China was already playing two men down.
Defender Tan Wangsong was red-carded in the 52nd for a vicious foul and midfielder Zheng Zhi in the 63rd for elbowing an opponent.
Sunday’s victory leaves Belgium in sole possession of second place in Group F with 3 points. China has one point and needs to beat leader Brazil in its the last group match.
Italy 3, South Korea 0
QINHUANGDAO, China — Italy secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the men’s Olympic soccer tournament Sunday, beating South Korea 3-0 on goals from Giuseppe Rossi, Tommaso Rocchi and Riccardo Montolivo.
The Italians dominated a tough South Korea side that was undefeated in Olympic qualifying.
Rossi scored in the 15th, pouncing on the deflection of a shot from Rocchi and slotting a left-footed strike past South Korea goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong from 10 yards.
Rocchi doubled the lead in the 32nd when he knocked in a cross from defender Marco Motta, while Montolivo finished off the scoring with an injury-time goal.
The win gives Italy six points and assures it one of the top two spots in Group D.
Brazil 5, New Zealand 0
SHENYANG, China — Ronaldinho scored two second-half goals Sunday to lead Brazil to a 5-0 rout over New Zealand and a spot in the quarterfinals of the Olympic soccer tournament.
Ronaldinho netted his first goal of the tournament with a free kick in the 54th minute, and added another with a penalty kick in the 61st. The two-time FIFA Player of the Year hadn’t scored for Brazil in an official competition in nearly a year.
Anderson opened the scoring less than three minutes in. Alexandre Pato scored in the 34th and Rafael Sobis added another goal in second-half injury time to keep Brazil on track for its first gold medal in soccer.
The victory at Shenyang Olympic Stadium secures Brazil one of the top two spots in Group C and a trip to the second round.
Cameroon 1, Honduras 0
QINHUANGDAO, China — Midfielder Stephane Mbia scored in the second half Sunday to lift Cameroon to a 1-0 victory over Honduras in men’s soccer at the Beijing Olympics.
Mbia collected the ball 25 yards out in the 74th minute and hit a low right-footed drive past the outstretched arms of Honduras goalkeeper Kevin Hernandez and inside the left post.
The win gives Cameroon four points and keeps the team’s quarterfinal hopes alive heading into its final Group D match against Italy. Sunday’s defeat was the Hondurans’ second, and knocks them out of the tournament.
Nigeria 2, Japan 1
TIANJIN, China — Victor Obinna scored one goal and set up another to lead Nigeria to a 2-1 victory over Japan on Sunday, bolstering the Africans’ claim for a place in the men’s Olympic soccer quarterfinals.
Obinna found the net in the 58th minute and set up Victor Anichebe to score on another counterattack in the 74th minute as Japan’s defense was exposed on each flank.
Second-half substitute Yohei Toyoda scored for Japan in the 79th minute and his team continued to create chances, but heavy rain from a thunderstorm for the final 10 minutes of the match hampered its chances.
The victory gave Nigeria four points in Group B with one game remaining, while Japan was left with zero and virtually no chance of advancing.
Argentina 1, Australia 0
SHANGHAI, China — Ezequiel Lavezzi ended Australia’s stubborn resistance and led Argentina to a 1-0 victory Sunday to put his team into the quarterfinals of the Olympic soccer competition.
After Lionel Messi had missed three chances, Lavezzi ended a well-worked move to score a 78th-minute goal to give Argentina six points from two games. The Argentines also beat Ivory Coast 2-1.
The Aussies have one point after a 1-1 draw with Serbia.
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