Die Allianz T-D-P » has not given up hopes of keeping his seat at Saub

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil will look for inspiration from playing at the historic Maracana Stadium when it faces Honduras in the semifinals of the mens Olympic soccer tournament on Wednesday.The decisive game will mark the debut of many of Brazils youngsters at the famed venue, which is expected to be packed with nearly 70,000 fans hopeful of seeing Brazil stay on track for its first soccer gold medal.We know about the importance of Maracana in the history of Brazilian football, Brazil defender Marquinhos said. We grew up hearing stories about the stadium. For everything that has happened there, its a special place for us. To be playing a semifinal and a final at the Maracana is like a dream to everyone who is here.The Maracana is Brazils most famous football stadium, having hosted two World Cup finals -- 1950 and 2014 -- and being home to some of the nations most important moments in club competitions.Brazil coach Rogerio Micale, who will be making his coaching debut at the Maracana, took the time to walk onto the pitch of the empty venue after his pre-match press conference on Monday.Its a great pleasure to be in a stadium like the Maracana, which represents so much to Brazilian football, Micale said. It will be a privilege for me and for my team to play such an important match at a stage like this.The stadium was home to the opening ceremony at the Rio Games, and will also host the closing ceremony. The first Olympic soccer match at the Maracana will be the womens semifinal between Brazil and Sweden on Tuesday.I used to pass by the Maracana when I was just a fan and dreamed of one day playing there, said Brazil midfielder Renato Augusto, a Rio de Janeiro native.Brazil didnt play at the Maracana at the World Cup in 2014 but it won the Confederations Cup at the venue the year before, in a final against Spain. If it beats Honduras, it will be back at the stadium for Saturdays final.Led by Neymar and promising youngsters Gabriel Jesus and Gabigol, Brazil is playing in its third-straight Olympic semifinal, and seventh overall. It lost to Lionel Messis Argentina in 2008 in Beijing, and made it to the final in 2012 in London but lost the gold to Mexico. Brazil has three silver medals and two bronze. The gold is the only significant trophy the five-time World Cup champions havent won in soccer.Honduras reached the semifinals for the first time after eliminating two-time Olympic champion Argentina in the group stage and getting past South Korea in the quarterfinals.An Olympic semifinal to be played in a stadium with 80,000 people is a motivation for everyone. The world will be watching our game. Our players have to motivate with it and feel that they have to give their best in the field, Honduras coach Jorge Luis Pinto said. I am thinking a lot about Neymar and how I can control him. Im looking for that player to mark him.Neymar struggled when Brazil opened with consecutive scoreless draws against South Africa and Iraq, but he and the rest of the team are coming off convincing wins against Denmark and Colombia.In the other semifinal, which will be played in Sao Paulo later Wednesday, 1996 Olympic champion Nigeria will face Germany, which is playing in the Olympics for the first time since 1998, when U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann was on the team. Germany has the competitions best attack with 19 goals. It eliminated Portugal in the quarterfinals.Nigeria almost didnt make it to Brazil in time for its opening game because of a trip mix-up, but it finished first in its group before eliminating Denmark in the quarterfinals. In addition to the gold in Atlanta, Nigeria also won the silver in Beijing in 2008.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoniTrevor Hildenberger Jersey . 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The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12.YAS MARINA, Abu Dhabi -- Pascal Wehrlein says there is no truth in media reports he has agreed to drive for Sauber next season.Sauber is yet to confirm Marcus Ericssons teammate for next season, though news overnight that Banco do Brasil is stopping its sponsorship of Felipe Nasr led to reports in German media on Friday that Wehrlein had agreed a deal. Wehrlein is still a Mercedes driver but, having been overlooked by Force India, he is yet to have his contract at Manor extended.At his media session after Friday practice, Wehrlein was asked about the rumours but said his future plans are still unconfirmed.Yeah, its not true, he said. Theres no news. Theres still talks and discussions going on and of course with both teams because they are the only teams with a seat left for next year. Many people asked me today about if its true that I signed and no, its not true. Its not good that people write something like that when its not true. If it would be true we would confirm that.The loss of Banco do Brasil sponsorship was also reported from Abu Dhabi, with the company reportedly cutting ties withh Nasr this week.dddddddddddd. Monisha Kaltenborn confirmed the news on Friday but said it had no impact on the teams negotiations.Well, thats correct that the bank informed us that theyve interrupted their 2017 sponsorship programme, she said. Our seat is still open. We arent choosing that in our assessments were making and thats all there is to say of it.Nasr did not confirm or deny the loss of sponsorship but insisted he has not given up hopes of keeping his seat at Sauber.Well, I havent got anything yet, he said. The negotiations are still going on, thats the most important. My head is here this weekend, I cannot think about future now. We have tenth place to confirm this weekend so we cant lose our heads yet on other things, were not focused on other things. We need a strong race here to finally celebrate those two points.When asked if he was confident the talks would continue after the race, the Brazilian driver replied: Yes, on Monday we can talk about it. ' ' '