Two years ago on the same soil, Brazil was brutally embarrassed by the Germans in the build up to the World Cup final. Now, the Selecao have an opportunity to regain some of its pride on Saturday.
Neymar got the Brazilians off to a flying start in Wednesday’s 6-0 semifinal win against Honduras, when the Barcelona man scored less than a minute into the match for the fastest goal in Olympic history. Manchester City-bound Gabriel Jesus added a brace before halftime, giving the Selecao a comfortable 3-0 advantage heading into the break.
Honduras failed to register a shot on target throughout the match, and in the process, Brazil extended its shutout streak to 450 minutes. Marquinhos added a fourth for Brazil just six minutes into the second stanza, before tacked on a fifth with a little over 10 minutes to play.
The host nation’s put an exclamation point on their progression into the Olympic final when Neymar slotted home a penalty kick in stoppage time.
Meanwhile, Germany booked its place in the final after narrowly defeating Nigeria, 2-0, in Rio.
Lukas Klostermann gave the Germans the lead just nine minutes into the match, and the team held on the rest of the way despite solid pressure from the Super Eagles.
The Germans doubled their lead with two minutes remaining when Nils Petersen tapped home a Davie Selke cross.
Nigeria found several quality chances as the match wore on, but between misdirected free kicks and sliced efforts, the Germans managed to hold off the pressure.
Brazil and Germany advance to the Olympic gold medal match on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET, while Honduras and Nigeria will compete for the bronze medal earlier in the afternoon at 12 p.m. ET.
