Brazil were in imperious form in the first half as they thrashed Ghana’s Black Stars 3-0 in a friendly in Le Havre, France.
A header from defender Marquinhos and a brace from Tottenham Hotspur forward, Richarlison gave the South Americans a comprehensive first-half lead.
Although the Stars were much better in the second half after the introductions of Mohammed Salisu and Inaki Williams, they could not breach the Brazil backline.
Otto Addo raised a few eyebrows when he named Salisu, Williams and left-back Gideon Mensah on the bench before the game.
Mensah’s replacement, Baba Rahman’s inclusion appeared to be the most contentious decision from the pre-match chatter online, although the defender was one of Ghana’s better players on the pitch.
The team was dealt a significant blow when midfielder, Thomas Partey was ruled out of the game after picking up an injury in the warm-up and had to be replaced by Baba Iddrisu.
Brazil started the game strongly and promptly took the lead in the ninth minute when Marquinhos connected with a Raphinha corner.
They doubled their lead in the 28th minute when Richarlison swept home Neymar’s pass brilliantly.
The PSG forward grabbed his second assist of the game as his free-kick was headed home by Richarlison in the 40th minute.
Brazil had several chances to extend their lead but brilliant last-ditch defending and poor finishing kept the score at 2-0.
Inaki Williams’ introduction sparked life into the Stars briefly in the second half as Kudus Mohammed showed glimpses of his quality but they barely threatened Alisson in Brazil’s goal.
Addo’s team will now look to bounce back when they take on Nicaragua in Spain on Tuesday.
