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RIO DE JANEIRO — It was the dream start of dream starts for Brazil. And fittingly, its biggest star was in the middle of the moment. Neymar scored the opening goal of Brazil’s semifinal against Honduras at fabled Maracana Stadium just 14 seconds after kickoff on Wednesday. It the fastest goal in Olympic history. The Hondurans played the ball backward on the kickoff only to have Neymar intercept the lazy pass. The Barcelona star found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Luis Lopez and deftly got a touch on the ball before Lopez crashed into him in mid-air. Lopez stopped Neymar but he didn’t stop the ball, as it bounded slowly into the goal for a 1-0 Brazil lead. Neymar got the worst of the collision and stayed on the ground. He even had to be stretchered off the field but immediately got up as soon as he was brought across the touchline. Maracana cheered when Neymar ran to the center line and re-entered the game. Brazil won 6-0 to advance to the final.

Who’s the greatest Olympian ... the fastest man or the greatest swimmer? (MARTIN BUREAUMARTIN BUREAU/AFP) There's no doubt that Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps are the best in their fields... but who is the greatest overall? In this Daily News "That's Debatable" series, writers Ebenezer Samuel and Ian Powers take hacks at each other over who is the best Olympian. BOLT IS SIMPLY THE BEST Jamaica's Usain Bolt celebrates after he won the men's 100m Final. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES) It doesn’t get any faster than Usain Bolt. Ever. In the history of humanity. In the one thing that just about any able-bodied human can do. It has been this way with metronomic consistency for three consecutive Olympic Games : In the three most basic events, there is Usain Bolt running away from everyone else. We saw it again on Sunday night, when American Justin Gatlin ran the seemingly perfect 100-meter dash, only to watch Bolt claim his third straight title anyw...

Strong: Caster Semenya ran in just under two minutes during her heat at Rio 2016 today, and qualified for the semi-finals The South African athlete once controversially forced to undergo gender testing strongly began her quest for gold at Rio 2016 in the women’s 800 metres today. Caster Semenya ran in just under two minutes - 1 minute 59.31 seconds - during her heat at the Olympic Stadium, and qualified for the semi-finals. The 25-year-old has faced objection to her involvement because she has a condition meaning her testosterone levels are far higher than normal. But she has hit back at 'haters' claiming she should not compete as her fans posted the hashtags #HandsOffCaster and #GoCaster on social media. And Semenya has taken to Instagram to goad her detractors, saying: ‘Dear Haters, I have so much more for you to be mad at. Just be patient.’ Semenya has no womb or ovaries - but, and because, of a chromosomal abnormality, she has internal testes. She was controversially force...

Joe Hart will leave Manchester City this month as they close on Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. The England No 1 has been told he does not figure in Pep Guardiola's immediate plans and, rather than sit on the bench, is ready to go on loan with Sevilla and Everton the main contenders at this stage. The 33-year-old Bravo has asked to leave Barcelona with a £17million deal between City and the Spanish champions agreed in principle with Valencia to replace him with Diego Alves. Barcelona agreed to let Bravo go rather than 24-year-old Marc Andre ter Stegen yet the German is out for three weeks with a medial knee ligament strain he picked up last Thursday so they needed a replacement. Twenty nine-year-old Hart has three years left on contract at City and is keen on a loan but his wages would need to be heavily subsidised should he move to Spain unless Real Madrid came in for him. Barcelona open their season this Saturday against Real Betis so want a replacement f...

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane believes signing Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas would give him a selection headache, while James Rodriguez is set to stay put at the Santiago Bernabeu.  According to Javier Garcia of Real's official website, Zidane revealed his doubts about signing any more players this summer as the squad is "complete." He also discussed Fabregas after he was benched for the Blues' opening game of the season on Monday: If you want to put another central midfielder into the mix then it becomes complicated. Cesc is a great player but it is not very straightforward. I am going to end up with a squad where three or four players do not get selected. To therefore put another player in there makes it difficult. Indeed, Los Blancos already have Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro as their likely starting midfield trio with Mateo Kovacic waiting in the wings. Slightly further up field, Isco and Rodriguez will also be hoping to nail down a...

No deal: Rooney challenged to prove himself at Man United. (Picture: Getty) Wayne Rooney has been given 18 months to prove his worth to Manchester United before he is offered a new contract. The England captain, currently earning in excess of £300,000 per week, is thought to be keen to secure a new deal that will see the 30-year-old end his career at Old Trafford. With his current deal set to expire in 2019, Jose Mourinho and Manchester United chiefs have told the captain to prove himself before any negotiations over an improved deal will be considered, according to the Sun. Rooney, who had a poor Euro 2016 with England in the summer, is facing fresh criticism after a poor performance against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday saw him substituted before the hour mark. Jose Mourinho subs Wayne Rooney against Bournemouth. (Picture: Getty) Wayne Rooney is thought to be keen to end his career at Old Trafford. (Picture: Getty) ‘Rooney is ready to end his playing days at United,’ a...

Sheyi Ojo enjoyed a breakthrough season for Liverpool after returning from Wolves in January (Picture: Getty) Liverpool youngster Sheyi Ojo is reportedly set to spend a month on the sidelines after a scan revealed he has suffered a fracture in his back. The 19-year-old impressed for Liverpool during their pre-season, but the  Liverpool Echo claim the winger’s progress has been put on hold due to injury. Ojo managed to break through into the first team last season thanks to hard work and Liverpool’s involvement in the Europa League and did well to carry some of his excellent form into pre-season. Ojo impressed during pre-season in America with Liverpool (Picture: Getty) However, the attacker came back from the tour of America complaining of discomfort in his back and was forced to sit out Liverpool’s final pre-season games against Barcelona and Mainz. Ojo was sent for a scan and the results have confirmed the youngster will have to wait until at least the middle of September to co...

Gabriel of Santos has been linked with a move away from Brazil. (Picture: Getty) The agent of highly-rated Brazilian striker Gabriel Barbosa has played down speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United. Gabriel, known as Gabigol, was thought to be closing in on a surprise £30million move from Santos to Old Trafford as Jose Mourinho continues to overhaul the Red Devils. Having secured the high-profile signings of Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba already this summer, Gabriel Barbosa was thought to be the next recruit after Santos president Modesto Roma has already confirmed negotiations with United. With keen interest from the likes of Leicester, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, the forward’s agent, Wagner Ribeiro, was forced to confirm serious interest from Europe. However, when asked by Brazilian broadcaster Globo Esporte about a potential move to Old Trafford before the transfer window closes, Ribeiro insisted the talk was ‘merely specula...

Danny Dyer started beef with the Wright bros (Picture: REX Features / Instagram) If you’re ever having a bad day, just head on over to Danny Dyer’s Twitter. He often spends the day owning trolls who target him with mean tweets about acting. That’s hilarious enough, but sometimes he even starts his own beef – and still totally owns it. Like yesterday, when he went in on new enemy Mark Wright. For seemingly an unknown reason, he took on the radio DJ by having a pop at his radio show. He wrote:  Follow Danny Dyer   ✔ @MrDDyer My worst nightmare would be listening to Heart FM while eating an Oykos yoghurt. It would be like pissing razor blades. 11:28 AM - 16 Aug 2016     149 149 Retweets     488 488 likes Turns out there was a reason – the pair reportedly had a slap fight, as explained by Mark’s brother Joshua when he leapt to the former TOWIE star’s defense:  Follow Joshua Wright   ✔ @Joshwright4 Malcolm you m...