Brazil Vs. Japan: Brazil Defeats Japan 3-0 In Opening Confederations Cup Match

After a mostly stagnant first 45 minutes, Brazil came through to shut down the Asian Cup champions Japan in a 3-0 victory Saturday in Brasilla to open up play for the Confederations Cup. Brazil started off fairly strong, with Neymar scoring the first goal after one-timing the ball brought down by Fred in just the third minute of play, World Cup Blog reported, The remainder of the half remained quiet until Brazil got its bearings again, scoring two more and closing any chance of a win for Japan.

Though Japan had many opportunities, mostly involving star player Honda, it was unable to capitalize on them. Paulinho upped the ante for Brazil by scoring the second goal not long after the halftime break to set the tone for the next 45. Japan already began losing its hopes of winning with that goal as play wore down and the two teams entered extra time. In the third minute of added time, Jô kicked in another goal following a pass from Oscar to grant a solid victory to the home team, according to Bleacher Report.

Japan maintained some consistent pressure on Brazil throughout the final 45, but were unable to subdue its force. Players who were expected to make stellar showings, however, were surprisingly quiet during the opening match. Dani Alves struggled with keeping possession of the ball while Oscar remained dormant for at least the first 30 minutes of play. It wasn't until the final 45 that these players began to mobilize and settle into the match.

Brazil goes on to face Mexico this Wednesday following Mexico's match with Italy Sunday. Japan will play Italy this Wednesday.