Neymar scored twice, including the fastest goal in Olympics history, as Brazil coasted into Saturday’s gold medal football match with a 6-0 thrashing of Honduras at Rio’s iconic Maracana.
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Amazingly for two nations who are first and second in the number of World Cup titles – five for Brazil and four for Germany – neither has ever won Olympic gold in soccer.
Honduras’ Alberth Elis and Brazil’s Rodrigo Caio, right, fight for the ball during a semifinal match of the men’s Olympic football tournament between Brazil and Honduras at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro Wednesday Aug. 1.
Nigeria and Germany play in the second semi-final at 20:00 BST on Wednesday, with the final at the Maracana on Saturday (21:30 BST).
After Wednesday’s game, Brazil coach Rogerio Micale tried to explain what Neymar means to the team.
The Rio Olympics meant a lot to everyone connected with Brazil.
Team captain Neymar could also cement his status as one of Brazil’s greatest players if he can lead his team to gold in Rio.
Neymar capped a fine display with his second of the afternoon from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
Brazilian fans were given a scare as Neymar had to be stretchered off the field after awkwardly falling while scoring the history-making goal.
Neymar scored the goal in 14 seconds after kickoff. At the centre of so much of Brazil’s nearly constant movement he masterminded the destruction of Honduras who came out with the clear intention of kicking everything in range – most notably Neymar, multiple times. It eliminated Portugal 4-0 in the quarterfinals. Park, who has won seven major championships, is playing for the first time in two months because of a thumb injury.
“We have the same team spirit, we fight for each other”, Ginter told SporTV.
Nevertheless, they are now only 90 minutes away from winning their first Olympic Games men’s football gold medal after losing in the final in 1984, 1988 and 2012.
“He has talent. External factors influence players with potential, and we want to understand how he developed in order to find more players [like him]”.
Honduran defender Johnny Palacios’ clumsy clearing attempt from the top of his goal box bounced off Neymar’s shins and the slim forward kept his balance and followed it toward the net.
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“I’m happy for the goals but the most important thing is that we made it to the final”, said Gabriel Jesus, who before the Olympics signed with English club Manchester City. “And when you have a star like Neymar, you have to be grateful, because he is the type of player that pushes Brazil to a higher level”.
