Arsenal’s Marquinhos suffered disappointment at the weekend as Brazil failed to qualify for the Olympic Games this summer.

Marquinhos playing for Brazil at the Pan American Games (Photo via Marquinhos on Instagram)
Marquinhos playing for Brazil at the Pan American Games (Photo via Marquinhos on Instagram)

With a game to go, Brazil’s Olympic hopes were in the balance going into the weekend, with qualification in their grasp if they could beat Argentina.

But their opponents were just as motivated to win the match, knowing a win of their own would be enough for them to qualify in Brazil’s place.

Arsenal’s Marquinhos started the game on the bench, but he came on with 17 minutes to go.

Unfortunately, it was in that last period when Argentina finally broke the deadlock, with Luciano Gondou giving his side a 1-0 lead in the 77th minute.

Brazil couldn’t turn things around late on, and Argentina ended up qualifying for the Olympics along with group winners Paraguay.

Arsenal news and gossip - Brazil's midfielder Marlon Gomes (L) and Brazil's forward Marquinhos gesture at the end of the Argentina 2023 U-20 World Cup Group C football match between Brazil and Nigeria at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in La Plata, Argentina, on May 27, 2023. (Photo by LUIS ROBAYO/AFP via Getty Images)
Brazil’s midfielder Marlon Gomes (L) and Brazil’s forward Marquinhos gesture at the end of the Argentina 2023 U-20 World Cup Group C football match between Brazil and Nigeria at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in La Plata, Argentina, on May 27, 2023. (Photo by LUIS ROBAYO/AFP via Getty Images)

Brazil had breezed through the first stage of qualification so easily that they’d topped the group with a game to go.

But the second stage was entirely composed of group winners and runners-up from the first stage, so it was never going to be quite so easy.

Brazil fell to a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay in their opening game, before beating Venezuela 2-1 in their second fixture. But defeat in their final match against Argentina means a quiet summer for the country’s u23 side.

It’s the first time Brazil haven’t qualified for the Olympics since 2004, having won gold in the previous two editions of the tournament.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 18: Marquinhos #27 of Arsenal FC looks on during the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge between Arsenal FC and MLS All-Stars at Audi Field on July 18, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC: Marquinhos of Arsenal FC looks on during the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge between Arsenal FC and MLS All-Stars at Audi Field on July 18, 2023. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Marquinhos will be particularly disappointed on a personal level, given the lengths he’d gone to in the hope of making the tournament.

The 20-year-old had joined Ligue 1 club Nantes on a season-long loan in the summer transfer window, but they then had a dispute over his call-up by the Brazil u23s.

The tournament kicked off on January 20th, ending on February 11th. That would have meant another four weeks away from Nantes, with Marquinhos already having taken time off to win the Pan American Games with Brazil in November.

Marquinhos didn’t play a match for Nantes for two months around the games, and they preferred to cancel his loan instead of letting him go again.

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to have worked out too badly, with Fluminense now looking to complete the winger’s signing.