Brazil will not defend their Olympic men's football title after losing 1-0 to their regional rivals Argentina.

In the decisive South American Olympic qualifier, Luciano Gondou scored the winner for the Argentina under-23 team coached by Javier Mascherano. He headed a cross from Valentin Barco past goalkeeper Mycael in the 78th minute at the Brigido Iriarte Stadium in Caracas.

Brazil men had won gold in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics.

South America's Olympic qualifying for men's football offered two spots in Paris. Paraguay ended on the top of the table of the final group stage with seven points in three matches after its 2-0 win on Sunday against hosts Venezuela.

Argentina finished the tournament with five points, two more than Brazil, who only managed to beat Venezuela in the final stage.

“We deserved this. We didn't lose a single match at the qualifying," said Gondou, who scored four goals in the tournament in Venezuela. “We suffered, we waited for this goal, but in the end we got it."

Argentina had won the gold in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, with Lionel Messi leading the team in Beijing.

La Liga: Yamal saves Barca the blushes

Barcelona: A double by teenage winger Lamine Yamal helped Barcelona salvage a 3-3 draw at home with relegation-threatened Granada on Sunday in a La Liga match.

Xavi Hernandez’s side are third in the standings on 51 points. Yamal put the hosts ahead after 14 minutes with a tap-in into an empty net after Joao Cancelo’s cross found him at the far post. Granada equalised two minutes before halftime thanks to Ricard Sanchez’s powerful volley into the top corner.

The visitors grabbed the lead in the 60th minute with an easy finish by Facundo Pellistri before Robert Lewandowski made it 2-2.

Ignasi Miquel restored Granada’s lead with a towering header in the 66th minute, but Yamal levelled again with a long-range strike for his second of the night ten minutes from time.

Reuters