Rio de Janeiro (CNN) In the center circle, his teammates knelt in prayer, pleading for divine intervention.

All around him, 70,000 Brazilians inside the vast Maracana Stadium chanted his name, expecting -- no, demanding -- their nation's biggest soccer star deliver a historic success at Rio 2016.

Neymar paused, gathering his thoughts as he stuttered towards the ball, almost grinding to a halt before stroking his penalty kick high to the left of Germany's goalkeeper Timo Horn.

As the net rippled, Brazil celebrated. It had won Olympic soccer gold for the first time in its history.

A night of deafening noise and frantic play inside Rio's iconic arena ended in triumph for the host nation, as a penalty shootout separated the sides after Saturday's final finished 1-1 following extra time.

For Brazil, this was a cathartic success. This was a landmark victory over a country that had inflicted an humiliating 7-1 defeat on it two years ago, in the semifinal of its own World Cup.

Not this time.

If Brazilians were anxious ahead of this match, those anxieties were expressed with raucous support.

A ti, toda a honra e toda a glória 🙏 ⚽ pic.twitter.com/pE1t1meuYc — Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) August 21, 2016

Before the national anthems had been sung, the stadium reverberated to the sound of one man's name. "Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Ola, Neymar, Neymar" greeted the players as they took to the pitch.

Brazilians can even be forgiven for singing through the German anthem -- an expression of excessive exuberance rather than hostility, perhaps.

And they didn't have to wait long for Neymar to deliver his first telling contribution.

In the 26th minute, the captain and No. 10 sent a wonderful, looping free-kick beyond the despairing Horn to ignite a crowd who had arrived ready to combust.

Brazil was buoyant, but its newfound confidence was fragile. Germany hit the crossbar three times in the first half, with Sven Bender seeing his header come agonizingly close after 35 minutes.

The German men grew into their contest and grabbed a deserved equalizer just before the hour mark, as captain Max Meyer finished off a flowing move with a low shot from just inside the box.

Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 American runner Allyson Felix celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win the women's 4x400-meter relay final on Saturday, August 20. The win gives Felix her 6th career gold. Hide Caption 1 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Neymar of Brazil becomes emotional after scoring the winning penalty in a shoot against Germany during the men's football final. Hide Caption 2 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Britain's Mo Farah crosses the line to win the gold medal in the men's 5,000-meter final. Hide Caption 3 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Bo Qiu of China competes during the men's diving 10-meter platform final. China's Aisen Chen would go on to win gold in the event. Hide Caption 4 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 America's Matt Centrowitz, center, reacts after winning the men's 1,500-meter final followed by silver medallist Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria, left, and bronze medallist Nick Willis of New Zealand, right. This is the first gold medal for the United States in the event since 1908. Hide Caption 5 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 U.S. basketball player Tina Charles, left, and Spain's Laura Gil battle for the ball in the final game on Saturday, August 20. The Americans earned yet another gold, making it their sixth straight Olympic win Hide Caption 6 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Ukraine's Andriy Fedechko, left, and Ireland's Arthur Lanigan-O'Keeffe take part in the fencing round of the modern pentathlon. Hide Caption 7 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Volleyball players from the Netherlands, in orange, and the United States compete in the bronze medal match. The Americans won. Hide Caption 8 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Radik Isaev of Azerbaijan, left, kisses Great Britain's Mahama Cho after defeating Cho in the over 80-kilogram (176-pound) semifinal taekwondo event. Hide Caption 9 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Jan Kuf of the Czech Republic falls from his horse in the show jumping portion of the modern pentathlon. Hide Caption 10 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 French handball player Gnonsiane Niombla, center, shoots the ball during the gold medal match against Russia. The Russians came out on top. Hide Caption 11 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Italian water polo players celebrate with their coach Alessandro Campagna after defeating Montenegro in the bronze medal game. Hide Caption 12 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Nigeria's William Ekong, left, and Romell Quioto of Honduras jump for a header during their bronze medal soccer match. The Nigerian team won its country's first Olympic medal since the Beijing 2008 Games and its third soccer medal in its history. Hide Caption 13 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 U.S. triathlete Gwen Jorgensen reacts as she crosses the finish line. This is the first time the United States has won gold in the triathlon. Hide Caption 14 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Rhythmic gymnasts from Israel perform their routine during the team all-around qualifications. Hide Caption 15 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 China's Chen Long reacts after winning gold against Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei in their badminton singles match. Hide Caption 16 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 British boxer Nicola Adams, left, punches Sarah Ourahmoune of France during their flyweight 51-kilogram (112-pound) final bout. Hide Caption 17 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 The Serbian basketball team celebrates with their coach, Marina Maljkovic, after defeating France 70-63 in the bronze medal match. Hide Caption 18 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Canoeists Tom Liebscher, left, and Max Hoff of Germany react after winning the K-4 1,000-meter sprint. Marcus Gross and Max Rendschmidt were also part of the gold-medal finish. Hide Caption 19 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 Emily Batty of Canada, left, and Katerina Nash of the Czech Republic compete in the cross-country mountain bike race. Hide Caption 20 of 21 Photos: Rio Olympics: Day 15 South Korean golfer Inbee Park reacts after winning gold. Hide Caption 21 of 21

Both teams pressed and probed as the contested drifted into extra time, but the exertions of that energy-sapping opening hour had taken their toll after another sticky night in Rio.

After eight flawless kicks, Nils Petersen had the misfortune of seeing his shot saved by Weverton.

Up stepped Neymar, and the rest is now Brazilian soccer history.

For the 24-year-old it served as an answer to critics who lamented his and Brazil's form in the opening matches of this competition, when it drew against both South Africa and Iraq.

"This is one of the best things that have happened in my life," the Barcelona forward said. "That's it."

Brazil goalkeeper Weverton celebrates with Neymar at the Maracana Stadium.

Weverton was cast alongside Neymar in the role of hero with his penalty save, but the goalkeeper was quick to praise the contribution of a higher power.

"God has blessed me," he said. "The gold is ours, but it belongs to God.

"I told Neymar that God had given him a second chance. God loves Neymar like he loves all this team."