Brazil captain Neymar. (Photo : Getty Images)
Host nation Brazil will take on the challenge of powerhouse squad Germany in the gold medal match of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics men's football tournament. The two gold medal favorites are set to clash at the legendary Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro this Saturday, August 20.
Brazil, who is favored to win their first men's football Olympic gold medal in history, demolished Honduras in the semifinals held also at the Maracanã on Wednesday with team captain Neymar and spitfire Gabriel Jesus both scoring braces, Daily Mail Online reported.
The Seleção got a massive injury scare early in the game when Neymar was stretchered off the pitch after what seemed like a chest and stomach injury. The Barcelona superstar sank the opening goal of the contest 15 seconds after kickoff, which is said to be the "fastest goal in Olympic football history", but it came with a cost as he landed hard on the turf.
Neymar was soon "jogging", though, and managed to come back into the game after a quick treatment at the sidelines.
From there the Brazilian juggernaut began with Jesus' two straight goals at the 26th and 35th minutes to give the hosts a 3-0 lead at the interval. Marquinhos and Luan added a goal each to the tally after the restart to make it 5-0 with 11 minutes left before full time.
Neymar put the icing on the cake with a penalty kick in stoppage time to complete the six-goal haul of head coach Rogério Micale's side.
Meanwhile, Germany also clean-sheeted their semifinal opponents Nigeria, 2-0, on Wednesday at the Arena Corinthians in São Paulo to earn the right to face Brazil in the final, as per NBC Olympics.
Schalke's 20-year-old attacking midfielder Max Meyer shot a magnificent cross over Nigeria keeper Emmanuel Daniel that found teammate Lukas Klostermann for the easy goal at the ninth minute.
The Dream Team quickly fought back and came close to leveling the score at the 13th, but forward Sadiq Umar's close range strike was dutifully saved by German goalie Timo Horn.
After a series of back-and-forth attacks from both sides, Die Nationalelf finally doubled the lead at the 89th minute with striker Nils Petersen's sixth goal of the tournament. Petersen is now tied with teammate Serge Gnabry as this summer's top goalscorers.
With both sides having top-notch scorers, the game is expected to be a fast-paced affair with lots of goals. However, the hosts are favored to prevail in the end and clinch a historic win.
The predicted result is a high-scoring 3-2 victory for Brazil.
Brazil starting lineup (4-2-2-2 formation): Weverton; Zeca, Marquinhos, Caio, Santos; Walace, Augusto; Gabriel, Gabriel Jesus; Luan, Neymar
Germany starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Horn; Toljan, Ginter, Sule, Klostermann; L. Bender, S. Bender; Brandt, Meyer, Gnabry; Selke
