The early opener proved to be an indicator of things to come for Brazil as their attacking quartet caused Honduras all kinds of problems – Gabriel Jesus made it two in the 26th minute with a calm finish after a delightful through-ball from Luan.
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Neymar scored the first goal within 15 seconds. “They want us to play well and they want us to win the gold”.
Only the gold will be enough for a talented Brazilian team playing at home and considered the main title-favorite in a tournament played mostly with under-23 squads and very few stars.
Honduras made a number of poor tackles as they attempted to stop Brazil with a more physical approach, but that did not stop Gabriel Jesus netting a third 10 minutes before half-time after being set up by Neymar.
Victory guaranteed Brazil a fourth Olympic men’s football medal, but after bronze in 1996 and 2008 and the shock of losing to Mexico in the London 2012 final, only gold at the Maracana on Saturday will suffice for an expectant nation. The ball hit goalkeeper Luis Lopez, who had charged out of his goal to try to smother the shot, and rebounded off Neymar into the net.
Neymar set up Gabriel Jesus’ second goal with a ideal through ball behind a defender.
Fittingly, in their best performance of the tournament, Luan converted a fine team goal for Brazil’s fifth as Gabriel Barbosa slipped in Felipe Anderson to cross low to the far post.
“Any scheme will fall apart when you concede a goal with 15 seconds because of your own mistake”, Honduras coach Jorge Luis Pinto said.
After the match, some Honduran players were taking photos with Neymar on the field.
Brazil began their campaign with two goalless draws against South Africa and Iraq and were booed by their own fans after their second match.
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The win, which guarantees at least a silver medal for both sides, makes it a double Olympic final for Germany’s footballers after their women’s side beat Canada 2-0 in the last four to book a final date with Sweden, who knocked out Brazil’s women’s side, on Friday.
