Olympic men’s football round-up: Spain crash out

Spain crashed out of the Olympic football tournament in the group stage after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Honduras.

The reigning world and European champions were looking to get their campaign up and running after losing by the same margin against Japan in their opening match, but they could not get back on level terms after Jerry Bengtson headed Honduras into the lead early on.

It means the Hondurans qualify for the quarter-finals along with Japan, who beat Morocco 1-0 to secure a safe passage from Group D. 

Honduras got off to the perfect start when the lively Roger Espinoza crossed for Bengtson, who out-jumped full-back Jordi Alba to easily head past David De Gea.

Spain looked lethargic for much of the first half, but showed glimpses of their best when Juan Mata came close to equalising on two occasions just before half-time.

La Roja dominated much of the play after the break and hit the woodwork three times but could not find the equaliser they so desperately craved.

Tempers flared towards the end as Spain felt they should have had a penalty for a trip on Rodrigo, but the decision was not given and Luis Milla’s side exited the competition having yet to find the back of the net. 

In the other Group D match, Japan secured their place in last-eight with a late Kensuke Nagai strike.

With Spain out, Brazil are now unanimous favourites for the tournament after they secured their second win of the competition with a 3-1 victory over Belarus. 

Neymar was the star of the show as he scored one goal and made another two as Brazil’s front-line turned on the style after Renan Bressan gave Belarus a shock lead.

The 20-year-old put in a perfect cross for AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato to level the scores with a close-range header before the Santos forward curled in a stunning 25-yard kick to make it 2-1. 

Neymar once again turned provider late on as he back-heeled to Chelsea new boy Oscar, who struck home convincingly. 

Egypt must now emulate Brazil and beat Belarus to qualify for the quarter-finals after they could only manage a 1-1 draw with New Zealand.

A first-half Mohamed Salah strike cancelled out a Chris Wood strike to ensure both sides claimed a share of the spoils.

Meanwhile, Team GB will be buoyed by Uruguay’s 2-0 defeat against fellow Group A rivals, Senegal.

Stuart Pearce’s side are due to play Uruguay next, and the South Americans showed their defensive frailties as they failed to stop Senegal striker Moussa Konate from bagging a first-half brace. 

Despite Abdoulaye Ba’s sending off, Senegal managed to hold on to the win and join Team GB on four points at the top of the group.

In Group B, South Korea beat Switzerland 2-1 thanks to goals from Park Chu-Young and Kim Bo-Kyung either side of an Innocent Emeghara effort.

South Korea is now level on points with Group B leaders Mexico, who beat Gabon 2-0 courtesy of two goals from Giovani dos Santos.

Laurence Taylor, football correspondent