Brazil playmaker Neymar scored one goal and set up two more to spark the five-time World Cup champions past the United States 4-1 on Wednesday in an international football friendly.
The Brazilians used the match to study talent ahead of the London Olympics while the Americans prepared for next week’s start of their qualifying for the 2014 Brazil World Cup by facing a young squad with 17 Olympic-eligible players.
A crowd of 67,619 saw the Brazilians end a five-match win streak for the Americans, who enjoyed a 1-0 victory over host Italy in February and a 5-1 rout of Scotland last Saturday in their run.
The Brazilians improved to 16-1 all-time against the Americans, winning for the ninth time in a row since suffering their only defeat, by 1-0, in 1998.
Neymar opened the scoring on a penalty in the 12th minute after US defender Oguchi Onyewu was whistled for blocking a shot with his left forearm at the top of the penalty area.
The Santos striker, a 20-year-old forward who has attracted interest from several of the world’s top clubs, went to the spot against US goalkeeper Tim Howard, a standout for Everton in the Premier League.
Howard dived to his right as Neymar fired into the open side, netting his ninth goal in 17 matches for Brazil’s Selecao national side.
