Updated July 22nd, 2021 at 12:03 IST

Brazil vs Germany gold medal rematch: Players to watch out, Head to Head stats, Preview

Ahead of their gold medal rematch in the opening round of Tokyo Olympics 2020, here's what to expect in the high-octane clash between Brazil & Germany

Reported by: Karthik Nair
Image: AP | Image:self
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Previous edition's finalists Brazil and Germany are all set to lock horns in the first-round men's football clash of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 Games at Yokohama Stadium on Thursday.

Brazil vs Germany rematch

What is more interesting about this clash is that the two teams will not only be facing off against each other to get their Tokyo Olympics campaign off to a winning start but this also happens to be a rematch of their summit clash from the Rio Olympics 2016 where Brazil clinched gold with a thrilling 5-4 win on penalties after the match was tied at 1-1 at the regulation time and then the extra-time.

Ahead of the high-voltage clash between both these champion sides, let's take a look at the players to watch out for, the head-to-head records, and preview.

Brazil vs Germany head to head stats

Brazil's final roster for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was announced on June 17. However, after several clubs refused to release players, a new squad had to be announced on July 2.

The five-time world champions will be led by the veteran right-back Dani Alves. Without further ado, let's take a look at the players to watch out for in what is billed as the 2016 Rio Olympics gold medal rematch.

1. Richarlison:  The 24-year-old forward has been very impressive so far and had also scored a match-winning goal against Peru in Brazil's Copa America semi-final clash against Peru. However, an off day in the final against arch-rivals Argentina meant that the former champions failed to retain their title.

2. Bruno Guimaraes: The 23-year-old defensive midfielder has also excelled in making a tremendous impact for both Brazil as well as the French club Lyon in the last few years and the youngster would definitely be one of the impact players who can be instrumental in helping the reigning gold medalists retain the gold.

Germany:

Germany's final squad for the Olympic Games was released on July 4.

1. Max Kruse: The veteran forward who has been named in the German squad for the Tokyo Olympic Games would be hungry to give his best shot in the quadrennial event. He succeeded in finding the back of the net on 16 occasions for Union Berlin in 2020/21. The cerebral left-footer reached double figures for combined goals and assists for the ninth successive season even though he was out of action for two months due to injury.

2. Nadiem Amiri: The 24-year-old midfielder who has been impressive for  Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen in the past few years would be looking forward to adding a new lease of life to his international career as the Germans hope to finish on top of the podium this time around.

Brazil vs Germany prediction

The two football powerhouses have locked horns with each other on four occasions and it is Brazil who leads the charts when it comes it all comes down to the overall head-to-head encounters with three wins to their name from the four outings so far.

Brazil vs Germany: Preview

Brazil might be the strong contenders to retain the biggest prize in the history of the prestigious tournament even though they do not have the modern-day champion Neymar in their corner.

As for Germany, even they have the firepower to go all the way but more importantly, they would like to kick off their Tokyo Olympics 2020 campaign with a win against the same opponents who had played spoilsport in what was turning out to be a successful campaign by forcing them to finish as the silver medalists. 

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Published July 22nd, 2021 at 12:03 IST