RIO DE JANEIRO: Playing at home, with their biggest star onboard and an unexpected last-minute change at the helm, Brazil are looking to win their first Olympic men’s football gold medal in Rio de Janeiro.

No pressure, right?

Coach Dunga opted to include star striker Neymar as one of the three over-23 players allowed in the Olympic squads instead of taking him to the Copa America.

That plan backfired when Brazil was eliminated by Peru in the group stage of the tournament being played in the United States. That result prompted the dismissal of Dunga, who was replaced by Tite as the senior team coach.

Dunga was also slated to coach in the Olympics, but now the job falls to the usual under-23 coach, Rogerio Micale.

This will be the third straight Olympics in which Brazil bring some of their best players looking for that elusive gold medal.

The five-time World Cup champions failed with a team led by former FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldinho in 2008, eliminated by Argentina in the semi-finals, and with Neymar in 2012, losing to Mexico in the final.

Brazil’s men’s team has won the silver medal three times and the bronze two.

The pressure to win gold will be higher after the elimination at Copa America, and with local fans still smouldering from the embarrassing 7-1 loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals at home.

Brazil open against South Africa on Thursday in Brasilia, one day before the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. Three-time silver medallists Denmark and Iraq are also in Group ‘A’.

Micale will take charge after leading Brazil to the under-20 World Cup final last year.

Like the fans, he also expects Neymar to deliver.

He said: “I want to be dependent on Neymar. What coach in the world would not want a Neymar in their team? Neymar has exceeded my expectations. He is appreciated, he’s a good guy with a huge heart especially around the younger players. He has shown that he is more than just a great player -- he’s a great man admired by everybody.”

Brazil are strong favourites this time round as well to end their wait as, on top of home advantage, they also possess by far the strongest squad on paper.

Each team is restricted to just three players over the age of 23 in their 18-man squads.

Wonder kids Gabriel Barbosa and Gabriel Jesus, both tipped to make big money moves to Europe from Santos and Palmeiras respectively after the Games, will support Neymar in attack.

Meanwhile, Paris St Germain defender Marquinhos and Neymar’s Barcelona team-mate Rafinha are also among Micale’s squad.

Their biggest threat is likely to come from eternal rivals Argentina.

Atletico Madrid’s Angel Correa and Giovanni Simeone — son of Atletico boss Diego Simeone — formed a lethal partnership in scoring 13 goals to win the 2015 South American Under-20 Championships to qualify.

They face Portugal in an opening round match at the Rio Olympic stadium on Thursday in Group ‘D’ also containing Honduras and Algeria.

World champions Germany can call on the experience of the Bender twins Lars and Sven of Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund as two of their overage players.

A return to Brazil holds particularly fond memories for Dortmund full-back Matthias Ginter, who was part of the German squad that won the World Cup two years ago.

Ginter has shown his commitment to the cause by flying almost 20,000km in four days as he headed back from China with Dortmund on Friday before jetting off to Brazil.

“I’m still young and you have to take the chances offered to you. The Olympics are special. We’re all motivated and want to reach the final in Rio,” said the 22-year-old.

Germany start against Mexico in Salvador before facing Fiji and South Korea in Group ‘C’.

Mexico will field a strong squad, led by Pachuca striker Hirving Lozano, the only under-23 player on the Mexico team in Copa America, and Oribe Peralta, who scored four goals in the team’s winning campaign in London four years ago.

Group ‘B’ appears the closest to call as Colombia, Sweden, Nigeria and Japan all start with realistic ambitions of reaching the quarter-finals.

Colombia beat the United States in a playoff in March and their squad includes several players from the Copa America squad, including up-and-coming strikers Roger Martinez and Marlos Moreno.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2016