Brazil's easy path in Group C proves their capability to contend for the Olympic gold, while Belgium reserved the second place in the pool to meet Italy.

In the final group match on Wednesday, Brazil defeated host China 3-0 and Belgium edged Olympic debutant New Zealand 1-0.

This marked the third straight win of Brazil, which scored a top nine goals, conceded none in three matches.

The group stage serves only as warm-up for the star-studded Brazilian team, which features Ronaldinho, Diego and Alexander Pato. It could be seen that the team is gradually regaining rhythm and pace of Samba football and captain Ronaldinho, who recently transferred from Barcelona to AC Milan, is smiling on the pitch again.

In their first match, Brazil squeezed a disappointing victory over Belgium 1-0, but they soon won fans' hearts by staging a 5-0 win over New Zealand. They are going to take on Indomitable Lions Cameroon in Shenyang on August 16.

Missing from the Olympic tournament for 80 years, Belgium didn't want to finish their long-awaited journey in group stage. After losing the first match to Brazil, the Red Devils made up with two wins over host China and New Zealand, firmly clutching a spot in the quarterfinals.

However, Belgium's defense mainstay Vincent Kompany has to conclude his Olympic tour following an order from his German club Hamburger SV, a great loss to the Belgian backline.

It was the second time host China has participated in the Olympic tournament. Their last appearance was in Seoul in 1988, when they finished bottom in the group, conceding five goals and scoring none.

The host started with a 1-1 draw with New Zealand. Manchester United forward Dong Fangzhuo's goal became the first goal China has ever had in either Olympics or FIFA World Cup.

However, China couldn't go further than that lone goal and failed to live up to home fans' expectations.

The loss for China also marked the fourth consecutive time that host country failed to progress to the knockout stage in Olympic men's football history.

New Zealand has never been in the Olympics before. With Australia now competing in the Asian federation, the Kiwis therefore became the confident qualifier of Oceania.

But the underdog could not make a surprise showdown and has to pack home together with China.

(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2008)