LONDON — Senegal stunned Uruguay 2-0 in the first match at Wembley on Sunday as the West Africans recorded their first win in the Olympic Games.
The win was even more remarkable as Senegal were reduced to 10 men when Abdoulaye Ba was red-carded for hauling down Uruguay skipper Luis Suarez after 30 minutes. Two goals from Moussa Konate before halftime were enough to send Uruguay, back in the Olympics for the first time since their second successive gold medal in 1928, to a first ever Olympic defeat.
Spain’s bid to add the Olympic title to their World and European crowns ended in acrimony on Sunday after a shock 1-0 defeat by Honduras left them unable to reach the knockout stage.
Title favourites Brazil, inspired by dazzling forward Neymar, swept into the quarter-finals after coming from behind to beat Belarus 3-1 at Old Trafford with Neymar scoring and creating the other two.
They were joined in the last eight by Japan, who followed up their win over Spain on Thursday with another 1-0 win over Morocco. Spain hit the woodwork three times against Honduras after conceding an early goal in Newcastle.
A strong Spanish appeal for a penalty was waved away in the final minutes and at the final whistle they surrounded the referee in an animated protest.
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Spain’s Under-23 team in London featured three players from the senior squad that retained their European title on July 1.
Spain coach Luis Milla, asked if the success of the senior team had put more pressure on his side, said: “Yes, it is possible that the pressure did impact on us, but this is a team full of players who compete at the highest level.”