Gabi Portilho propelled Brazil into the semifinals of the Olympic women’s soccer tournament with a decisive 1-0 victory over France on Saturday.
Portilho, seizing a chance in the 82nd minute, sprinted toward the goal and expertly sent a shot past France’s goalkeeper, Constance Picaud, effectively knocking out the host nation at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes.
In the stands, Brazil’s legendary Marta celebrated exuberantly. Suspended for the quarterfinal match, she will be back in action for the semifinal against world champion Spain in Marseille on Tuesday.
The outcome could have been drastically different for France if Sakina Karchaoui had converted an early penalty. However, she failed to score from 12 yards.
France’s inability to capitalize on its opportunities in the first half proved costly.
Brazil’s goalkeeper Lorena saved Karchaoui’s 16th-minute penalty, and later, Griedge Mbock Bathy hit the crossbar with a header from a corner in the 39th minute.
Portilho’s goal, Brazil’s first shot on target, came after a tightly contested match.
She nearly doubled the lead when she hit the post late in the game.
Brazil, a two-time Olympic silver medalist from Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, had made it to the quarterfinals as one of the best third-placed teams, despite losing two of its three group-stage matches.
One of those defeats was a 2-0 loss to Spain in their final Group C match, during which Marta was red-carded.
The 38-year-old star, announcing this as her last major tournament with the national team, was emotional, shedding tears as she watched her teammates’ triumph.
However, Brazil’s victory was somewhat overshadowed by an injury to defender Rafaelle, who was stretchered off in the second half and later seen on crutches.
Spain secured their semifinal spot by defeating Colombia 4-2 in a penalty shootout after coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the second half.
