SA get Brazil and Brazil in Brazil

15 April 2016 - 02:31 By Nick Said

South Africa were drawn with hosts Brazil in both the men's and women's football competitions at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August. The men's Under-23 side will also tackle Asian qualifiers Iraq and Denmark, a good draw for Owen da Gama's side as they seek to reach the knockout rounds of the tournament for the first time.Vera Pauw's Banyana Banyana have a tougher assignment, having also been pooled with China and Sweden, nations with a strong pedigree in women's football.The South African men's side play Brazil on August 4, then Denmark three days later. Both games are in Brasilia. Their final pool match against Iraq is on August 10 in Sao Paulo. The top two teams in each pool reach the quarterfinals.Brazil have never claimed Olympic gold, but have finished runners-up three times, including at London 2012, when they were beaten by Mexico in the final.South Africa lost 3-1 in a friendly meeting with the South American powerhouse late last month, which would have told Da Gama a lot about the challenge facing his side.That Brazil squad included Barcelona midfielder Rafinha and star striker Luciano from Corinthians, but there is a strong possibility SA will also come up against Neymar and two other top names from the senior national team.Men's sides can field three overage players, with Brazil likely to call on Neymar for a huge event for the country.Banyana are appearing at their second Olympics after a decentdebut in London four years ago.The Brazilian women's side have competed at every Olympics since women's football was introduced in 1996, but only have two silver medals to show for their efforts.SA open with the tournament's first match against Sweden at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 3. They meet China there three days later, then Brazil in Manaus on August 9. The top two teams and the two best third-placed sides reach the quarterfinals.MEN'S COMPETITIONGroup A: Brazil, South Africa, Iraq, DenmarkGroup B: Sweden, Colombia, Nigeria, JapanGroup C: Germany, Mexico, South Korea, FijiGroup D: Argentina, Portugal, Algeria, HondurasWOMEN'S COMPETITIONGroup E: Brazil, China PR, Sweden, South AfricaGroup F: Canada, Australia, Zimbabwe, GermanyGroup G: USA, New Zealand, France, Colombia..

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