MARSEILLE, France: Brazil will meet the United States in the final of the Olympic women's soccer tournament after beating world champion Spain 4-2 on Tuesday.
Gabi Portillo, Adriana and Carolin scored in a thrilling semi-final at the Stade de Marseille after an Irene Paredes own goal put the two-time silver medallist ahead.
“It was a dream come true,” said Kerolin, who scored the opener more than 15 minutes into stoppage time to help Spain halt a late counterattack. “I was so excited, so excited, so excited and I was really impressed with my teammates.”
The victory means Brazil great Marta has the chance to end her highly successful international career with a gold medal after being suspended for the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Marta, 38, said her sixth Olympics would be her last major competition with her national team.
“We know what we have to do today and today is our final,” said Brazil’s Angelina. “So we are determined and we are here to win.”
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“It was a great win. Spain is a great team again and we know that,” she said. “So now we have to relax and learn more and see what we can do against the United States.”
Spain will have no chance in Paris of maintaining their status at the top level of women's football by adding an Olympic gold to the World Cup they won last year.
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“We will continue to fight for the best and it will be the Olympics until the end,” said Spain forward Jennifer Hermoso. “Bronze is also very difficult to get.”
A Paredes own goal in the sixth minute put Brazil in control of the game, and Portilho doubled the score in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time.
Adriana's 71st-minute header confirmed Brazil's dominance, but with victory seemingly assured, there is still more drama ahead.
Salma Paralluelo headed home for Spain in the 85th minute and almost immediately Alexia Putellas hit the crossbar from outside the area.
Kerolin made it 4-1 with a shot past Spain goalkeeper Kata Coll.
Paraluelo got her second goal in the 12th minute of stoppage time, but it was too late for Spain to come back.
Brazil will face four-time women's champions the United States in Saturday's final at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Spain will meet Germany in Lyon for the bronze medal.
Brazil has lost to the United States in two previous Olympic finals, in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
They secured their third final spot after making amends for a 2-0 defeat to Spain in the group stage of the tournament.
This was also the game in which Marta was sent off, and Brazil confirmed just hours before kick-off in the semi-finals that their appeal against the ban had been rejected.
Ultimately, Brazil didn't need their best players this time around and took another step towards the final early on after a costly mistake by Spain's defence when Coll, under pressure from Priscilla, tried to clear the ball but it bounced back off Paredes and into his own net.
Brazil dominated their chances, scoring on several occasions and establishing their dominance just before half-time with Portillo's cross into the bottom corner.
Adriana made it 3-0 after seeing her first shot hit the crossbar from six yards and then headed in from Portillo's header.
Spain, who came from 2-0 down to beat Colombia in the quarter-finals, gave fans hope with a Paralluelo header but when Kerolin put Brazil 4-1 up, Paralluelo's second proved to be little more than a consolation.
“We showed the world that we have a young team and a team that understands tactics very well, is competitive and will always be so,” said Brazil coach Arthur Elias. “Brazil is a source of great pride in women’s football.”
