Brazil’s Neymar nets fastest Olympic goal at 15 seconds

Honduras made a number of poor tackles as it attempted to stop Brazil with a more physical approach, but that did not stop Gabriel Jesus netting a third 10 minutes before halftime after being set up by Neymar.

The Olympic gold medal is the only major trophy the five-time World Cup champions haven’t won in soccer.

Defender Marquinhos scored the fourth goal off a corner in the 51st, shooting from close range after the defense failed to clear the cross into the area, and Luan added another in the 79th after a flawless cross by Felipe Anderson.

Brazil will now face Germany who beat Nigeria in the second semi-final at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, prevailing 2-0.

If he can lead his squad to triumph in Saturday’s final, the team captain would cement his status as one of Brazil’s greatest ever players. But for most Brazilians, their attention was on one place and one place only – Maracana. A heavy blow to the chest had been taken in his efforts to score the record-breaking goal and the mind briefly went back to his injury in the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals that meant he could only watch as his side went down in devastating fashion to Germany days later. He was stretchered off after being winded in the challenge.

Neymar set up Gabriel Jesus’ second goal with a flawless through ball behind a defender.

Neymar had been much criticised for his lacklustre displays in two 0-0 draws to start the tournament, but his transformation back from the nation’s whipping boy to golden boy was capped by his determination to open the scoring after just 15 seconds.

The Brazilians played their possession game, as their opponents laboured in the Rio heat.

There was no letup in the second half for a Honduras side that defensively was a shadow of the side that held South Korea at bay.

Brazil were then handed a late penalty, which Neymar rolled into the corner of the net to secure a 6-0 victory. This is a country where even dogs wear Neymar jerseys, where one need not watch a game on TV to know when Brazil scores because the collective fan roar and vehicle horn honking serves as play-by-play. While the Paris Saint-Germain defender didn’t have the cleanest first touch, he made no mistake with his second, finishing high into the net. And there was still time for more suffering for Hondura. “Of course Brazil played well, took advantage and scored the goals”.