Brazil vs. Honduras: 6 Bold Predictions for Olympic Football Quarterfinal

For followers of this wonderful Olympic football tournament, the fun truly begins: We are now into the knockout stages, and the safety net of group play has been removed from under each remaining team.

For some, that matters more than for others. Brazil, favorites going into the competition, now face less of a challenge in their march toward a gold medal, with both Spain and Uruguay shockingly eliminated.

Brazil's opponent in the quarterfinals, Honduras, are buoyed by a stunning victory over a desperate Spanish side that knocked La Roja out of the competition and reminded us that the seemingly impossible can become reality with some organization, determination and a flash of class.

While most will expect Brazil to win this match handily, any malaise will be pounced upon by a confident Honduran side. Keep clicking for six bold predictions for an exciting tie.

Mano Menezes Will Shake Up the Lineup

With the stunning depth that Brazil have, manager Mano Menezes can rotate players in and out of the lineup like no other manager in this tournament, preserving the players' stamina and effectiveness.

In the middle of a grueling schedule, and with much more important games looming on the horizon, look for Menezes to add some fresh legs to the starting XI that can play with the energy that they would in the first game of the tournament.

Admittedly, it will be difficult to find spots to change.

Alexandre Pato has mainly been used as a super-sub and could have a significant impact if he plays the full 90 minutes, but I would be reticent to remove Leandro Damiao, who has been on a great run of form lately.

If he wishes to make more tactical adjustments, Menezes could insert Ganso to the midfield and tinker with the arrangement of defensive and attacking midfielders.

Oscar Will Bag at Least Two Goals

Oscar has arguably been the player of the tournament for Brazil, playing as the archetypal creative No. 10 who fuels the attack and creates chances for others.

You get the feeling that he is poised to break out and run riot even more than he has by getting on the scoresheet more himself, and with all the advantageous attacking positions he works himself into, he could easily get among the goals.

As one of the hottest players of the competition so far, it would surprise few if Oscar just took over the game, and Honduras will have to watch him very closely.

A Goalkeeping Error Will Gift Jerry Bengtson a Goal

While Brazil should dominate the balance of their match against Honduras, I don't believe that they will manage to keep a clean sheet against a side that are really in the mood to score goals.

The only really obvious weakness in Brazil's side is their goalkeeper.

Neither Gabriel nor starter Neto are anything to write home about, and it is certainly not out of the question that the latter will make some sort of mistake in the quarterfinals.

And Honduras might just have the best man to capitalize on a gift in Jerry Bengtson. The striker cannot stop scoring at the moment and has three in his last two games, including the eventual winner against Spain.

No one can stop him right now.

And a relatively mediocre goalkeeper is not the man you would trust to get the job done.

Andy Najar Will Be Honduras' Neymar

Andy Najar is the closest thing to Brazil's Neymar that Honduras have. The winger is very young, has a tremendous amount of potential and can turn a game on its head with his technical ability.

Of course, Najar is not up to Neymar's level and does not perform with nearly the consistency of the Brazilian.

Then again, Honduras do not claim to be as good as their opponents and are not expecting a thoroughly dominating performance from Najar.

If he can do his job on the wing effectively, Najar will be a weapon that Brazil will have to respect and could provide that one moment of magic to produce a shocking scoreline.

Neymar Will Be Hurt by Honduras' Defensive Organization

Throughout the Olympics, Neymar has run riot, and few have been able to stop him.

As always, the game seems to come so easily to him, and he has been getting and creating goals as a matter of course.

However, he will run into an opponent on Saturday that is well-positioned to stop him, if not with the biggest defensive names in the tournament.

As they showed against Spain when they kept a clean sheet despite endless sieges on their goal, Honduras can really hunker down defensively and make a tough challenge when they need to—even against ostensibly superior opposition.

Neymar will find it difficult to create much of anything or make his devastating runs if he is forced to go through a wall of men who are determined to stop him for 90 straight minutes.

Brazil Will Win, but It Won't Be a Walk in the Park

Make no mistake: All the advantages in talent, depth and form lie firmly with Brazil.

They are more than equipped to conquer the Central American minnows that they will face, and they almost certainly will.

Remember, though, that we said the same thing when Spain played Honduras a few days ago.

And while I don't think two upsets that momentous will occur so soon after one another, that doesn't mean that a confident side won't put up a very good fight with nothing to lose after making it farther than they had anticipated.

Honduras will probably settle in and prepare for a defensive war from the early stages, and if they manage to nick a goal, they'll only get more intense.

In the end, Brazil's flair and pure talent will be too much, but that doesn't mean we won't be treated to an entertaining game of football between two teams with very different styles.

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