Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel. (Photo : Getty Images)
Dark horse teams Honduras and Nigeria will face each other in the bronze medal match of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics men's football tournament at the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte on Saturday, August 20 after dropping their respective semifinal assignments.
Honduras was crushed by host nation Brazil, 0-6, in their semis encounter at the legendary Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, as per Daily Mail Online.
Head coach Jorge Luis Pinto's boys were stunned early with a quick goal from Seleção captain Neymar in the first 15 seconds of the match, which was reported as the "fastest goal in Olympic football history".
It was followed by a brace from Gabriel Jesus to build the hosts' 3-0 advantage at the break. Strikes from Marquinhos and Luan plus Neymar's second goal of the afternoon made it 6-0 in the end as La Bicolor Olimpica seemed to be on the defensive in the whole contest.
Honduras had no shots on goal in the first 80 minutes of the game while also racking up five yellow card bookings. It was only late in the match that defender Allan Banegas and striker Alberth Elis made Brazilian keeper Weverton work for his spot.
Meanwhile, Nigeria also suffered a 0-2 blanking in the hands of Germany during their own semifinal game at the Arena Corinthians in São Paulo also on Wednesday, NBC Olympics reported.
Defender Lukas Klostermann tapped in the opening goal at the ninth minute off a brilliant cross from midfielder Max Meyer that defied Dream Team goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel. The second goal was then netted one minute before full time by one of the tournament's top scorers, striker Nils Petersen.
Head coach Samson Siasia's squad had the chance to equalize at the 13th minute when German goalie Timo Horn blundered a clear out that gave striker Sadiq Umar a clear shot at the goal. However, Horn made up for his mistake by saving Umar's strike which preserved their 1-0 advantage at the half.
The predicted result is a tough 1-0 win for Nigeria.
Honduras starting lineup (5-4-1 formation): Lopez; Pereira, Vargas, Palacios, Paz, Garcia; Elis, Espinal, Acosta, Quioto; Lozano
Nigeria starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Daniel; Shehu, Troost-Ekong, Sincere, Amuzie; Usman, Udo; Ezekiel, Obi Mikel, A. Umar; S. Umar
