Here's What It Was Like To Watch Brazil Win Soccer Gold In Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO ― People began to swarm the cafes and bars along Copacabana Beach early in the afternoon Saturday, hours before Brazil’s men’s soccer team would take the field at Rio’s Maracana Stadium for a much-anticipated rematch with Germany in the gold medal match of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Brazilians don’t usually care about the Olympic soccer tournament. Its meaning pales in comparison to the World Cup, which Brazil has won five times. But Rio on Saturday was different ― Brazil’s iconic yellow jerseys were ubiquitous on Copacabana and elsewhere, and street vendors swarmed the sidewalks to sell replicas to fans making last-second buys ― because this match was different. It was Germany, after all, who handed Brazil the most devastating loss in its proud soccer history at the 2014 World Cup, a 7-1 defeat no one here has forgotten.