A much changed Brazil from the one that disappointed at the World Cup finals eased to a 3-0 victory over Iran in an international friendly on Thursday.
Goals by Daniel Alves, Alexandre Pato and Nilmar were enough to see the Brazilians to an easy win on what was their second appearance in the United Arab Emirates — they walloped the UAE 8-0 in 2005.
Brazil — now under the management of Mano Menezes after Dunga was sacked following their defeat in the World Cup quarter-finals by the Netherlands — opened the scoring in the 14th minute through a terrific freekick by 27 year-old Barcelona defender Alves.
PHOTO: AFP
Despite being cheered on by the 20,000 strong crowd the Iranians couldn’t deliver much of a threat but the Brazilians also could not add to their tally during the first period.
Their domination eventually paid off when Pato — who was left out of the World Cup squad — struck in the 69th minute as he shot home from inside the area and Nilmar scored in similar fashion two minutes into time added on.
Menezes, whose first match in charge saw his side beat the US 2-0, said that it had been another chance to try out some fresh talent as he tries to put a side together for next year’s Copa America and then for the 2014 World Cup which Brazil are hosting.
“At the moment, we are in the middle of testing out certain players in order that we can evaluate them and their ability at this level,” said Menezes, who was not first choice for the hotseat but received the job when Fluminense refused to release Muricy Ramalho.
“We are in the early stages of constructing a new team and we have a lot of work to do,” he said.
“We are going to continue these experiments in the next lot of friendlies with Ukraine and Argentina so we get an idea of their potential,” the 48-year-old former Corinthians coach said.
Pato said he was delighted with his and the team’s performance.
“We are happy with our performance throughout the match which was a tough one to play in,” the 21-year-old AC Milan marksman said. “We are also satisfied with how the less experienced players performed.”
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