Neymar stars as Santos reach the final of the Club World Cup after cruising past Kashiwa Reysol on Wednesday.
Neymar took advantage of his Club World Cup debut by scoring an extraordinary goal to lead Santos to a comfortable 3-1 victory over Kashiwa Reysol, a result that sent the Brazilians into the final of the competition which takes place on December 18.

Santos' opponents in the final will either be European champions Barcelona or Asian champions Al Sadd, who face-off in Yokohama on Thursday.

Both teams pushed to the attack immediately from the kick-off in a swift beginning to the game at the Toyota stadium. Teenage prodigy Neymar almost gave Santos an early lead in the 4th minute, but his close-range effort struck the left post, to the relief of the locals.

Neymar commenced to showcase his sublime skill and trickery each time he touched the ball, to the frustration of the Japanese defenders, who resorted to dangerous tackles and rough play as a means to stop him.

But Neymar wasn't intimidated by their harsh tactics by any means, opening the scoring for Santos in the 18th minute with an absolute gem of a goal. The 19-year-old received the ball on the edge of the area, outwitted his marker with a clever touch, before curling the ball spectacularly around Kashiwa goalkeeper Sugeno.

Five minutes later Borges doubled Santos' lead with an equally good goal. The top goal-scorer of the Brazilian championship made space for himself outside of the area, before unleashing an unstoppable drive that left a stretching Sugeno with no chance.

Playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso pulled the strings in the Santos midfield, with his incredible technique and radar-like passing, as the two-time Intercontinental Cup winners maintained possession between themselves.

In the second period the Copa Libertadores champions continued to pressure their opponents, and should have added their third goal when Danilo was sent through on goal, but he fired his effort straight at Sugeno.

From that instance Santos seemed to take their foot off the pedal, and Kashiwa tried to take advantage of this, with fast dangerous counterattacks down both sets of flanks.

The J. League champions pulled a goal back in the 53rd minute when Hiroki Sakai connected to a Jorge Wagner corner-kick with a fine header.

But just when it seemed that Kashiwa could make their way back into the game, Danilo restored Santos' advantage with a stunning curling free-kick from 30-metres out that left Sugeno stranded on his goal-line.

Moments later Masakatsu Sawa hit the woodwork for Kashiwa, while substitute Ibson did the same for Santos at the other end.

Santos were well-worth their victory and will face the winner of the other semi-final between Barcelona of Spain and Al Sadd of Qatar in the final on Sunday.