All eyes will be on the Maracana, as Brazil are 90 minutes away from winning a first-ever gold medal in the Men's Olympic Football Tournament. As if an Olympic gold medal match needed another layer of intrigue, the hosts will have to get past Germany, a nation that defeated Brazil 7-1 in one of the most historic and shocking matches in FIFA World Cup™ history.
Although Matthias Ginter represents the only player on the German Rio 2016 Olympic side who was a member of Die Nationalmannschaft’s World Cup 2014-winning squad, make no mistake, the host nation will view this as a golden opportunity for redemption. For Brazil, captain Neymar has his golden opportunity to help write his name in the history books after he was injured for that semi-final at the World Cup two years ago.
Before Brazil and Germany take centre stage, there will be a significant match in Belo Horizonte earlier in the day, as Honduras and Nigeria play for the bronze medal. FIFA.com previews both matches of the final day at the Men's Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016.
Matches of the day Brazil-Germany, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, 20 August, 17.30 (local time) Brazil fans do not need reminding of what a game against the Germans on home soil represents. Heading into Saturday's gold medal match, both sides will be in confident mood. Brazil have been ruthless in front of goal in their last three matches: they defeated Denmark 4-0 in their last group game, Colombia 2-0 in the quarter-finals and Honduras 6-0 in the two sides’ final-four meeting. For Germany, they too will take confidence from a 4-0 rout of Portugal in Brasilia in the quarter-finals and a comfortable 2-0 victory against Nigeria in the semis.
Intriguingly, both teams have a variety of players capable of scoring goals. For Brazil, Neymar is very much the focal point but Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Barbosa and Luan have all contributed with goals and will be asking plenty of questions of Germany's backline in Rio. The Germans have an attacking force of their own in Serge Gnabry, Julian Brandt, Maximilian Meyer and Davie Selke. But will they be able to unlock an impenetrable Brazilian defence? All will be known on Saturday.
Honduras-Nigeria, Mineirao, Belo Horizonte, 20 August, 13.00 (local time) Similar to Germany's situation, Honduras know that no matter what, they will leave Rio 2016 with their highest-ever finish in the competition. But of course, Los Catrachos will be highly motivated to medal for the first time in history. Perhaps there will be more pressure on the Nigerians given their more illustrious record in the tournament, having won gold in 1996 and silver in 2008.
Both teams had days to forget in the semi-finals. Honduras came up against a Brazil side desperate to reach the final at the Maracana and it only took 15 seconds for Neymar to open the scoring. Honduras coach Jorge Luis Pinto will be making sure his defence is much more compact and focused from the opening whistle in Belo Horizonte.
Player to watch Neymar (Brazil) Neymar scored the fastest goal in Olympic Football Tournament history against Honduras in the semi-finals. Brazil's captain has found his scoring touch now in consecutive matches. Will he make it three against Germany in the gold medal match and finally lead his country to Olympic gold?
The stats 450 –** **Brazil have gone the entire tournament so far without conceding a goal: 450 minutes (not including injury time).
21 –Germany have scored 21 goals at Rio 2016, averaging about a goal every 22 minutes.
The words "It will be the game of our lives. We have dreamed of this final. Now that we are there, we want to go on and win it." Striker Davie Selke told Germany's official website
Match schedule Bronze medal match Honduras-Nigeria (Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte, 13.00)
Gold medal match Brazil-Germany (Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, 17.30)
(All times local)