LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Hosts Britain took a big step
towards the quarter-finals when goals from skipper Ryan Giggs
and substitutes Daniel Sturridge and Scott Sinclair secured a
deserved 3-1 win over the United Arab Emirates at Wembley on
Sunday.
Giggs, at 38 years and 243 days, became the oldest man to
appear in the Olympic soccer competition and then became the
oldest scorer when he headed Britain in front after 16 minutes.
The UAE equalised through Rashed Eisa after 69 minutes but
Britain then hit back with two goals in four minutes from
Sinclair, who scored with his first touch after 73 minutes, and
Sturridge who added the third with a brilliant chip over
goalkeeper Ali Khaseif in the 76th minute.
The result, Britain's first win in the Olympics since they
beat Taiwan 3-2 in the Rome Games in Sept. 1960, put them top of
Group A with four points having scored more goals than Senegal
who stunned Uruguay 2-0 earlier at Wembley.
Britain will qualify for the last eight as long as they do
not lose to Uruguay in Cardiff next Wednesday while the UAE are
eliminated after losing their first two games.
(Reporting by Mike Collett, editing by Justin Palmer)