By Benson Petit-Clair
The Brazilian national football team defeated the Ronaldo-less Portugal 3-1 in a high-profile friendly at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA (USA) on Tuesday night in preparation for the upcoming World Cup.
Brazil, the host nation of the next World Cup, automatically qualified and excluded from the elimanation process while Portugal is leading their group for the qualifications with their most recent result being a 4-2 victory over Northern Ireland. 
The Portuguese started the scoring in the 17th minute with a header from midfielder Raul Meireles who benefited from critical error from Maicon, who recently received the call from Scolari for a spot in the National team after a long absence.
The South Americans scored their first goal on a header as well by their captain Thiago Silva of PSG, his goal came following a corner kick for the pentacampeones.
Neymar, the coveted Brazilian star, scored the second goal in the 34th minute after picking up a ball and dribbled a couple defenders before putting the ball inside Portugal’s cage.
The Selecao’s third and final goal came courtesy of Jo – the promising midfielder – shortly after the half. Both teams had their share of chances throughout the second half but they were unable to add any goal during the last 40 minutes of the match.
Iconic Brazilian Pele and Portuguese legend Eusebio and New England Patriots and Revolution owner Robert Kraft took part of the opening kickoff, they welcomed the players with standing ovation onto the field.
62,310 strong fans were in attendance for the match at Gillette Stadium.
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