- Associated Press - Tuesday, August 10, 2010

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey | Neymar scored on debut and Alexandre Pato added a goal late in the first half as Brazil beat the United States 2-0 in an international friendly Tuesday, the first match for both nations since their disappointing World Cup exits.

Neymar, the 18-year-old Santos sensation, had just switched with Robinho and moved from the left flank to the center. He beat Johnathan Bornstein to an Andre Santos’ cross and angled a header inside Tim Howard’s left post in the 29th minute.

Pato doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time when Ramires’ through ball split Bornstein and Carlos Bocanegra, and the 20-year-old AC Milan forward shot past Howard. It was his second in nine appearances and first since his debut against Sweden in March 2008.

Both were overlooked by Dunga for his World Cup roster despite public clamor for their selection in Brazil. Dunga was fired after the 2-1 World Cup quarterfinal loss to the Netherlands last month and replaced by Mano Menezes, who promised to restore “Jogo Bonito” — beautiful Game — as Brazil prepares to host the World Cup in 2014.

A near-sellout crowd of 77,223 attended the high-profile homecoming for a U.S. team that drew record television ratings during the World Cup.

With young, swift players, Brazil showed glimpses of the renowned ball movement that took a back seat in South Africa to a more defensive game. Brazil won for the 15th time in 16 matches against the U.S. and has outscored the Americans 31-10.

Ganso, Victor and defender David Luiz also made their international debuts for Brazil, along with substitutes Andre, Ederson and Jucilei.

For both nations, rebuilding began in New Jersey, in a gleaming $1.6 billion stadium set for its first official NFL games next month.

Bob Bradley may have been coaching his last match as U.S. coach — his contract expires in December.

Criticized for some of his lineups during the 2-1 overtime loss to Ghana in the World Cup’s second round, he made six changes from that starting 11.

He used Maurice Edu in midfield in place of Ricardo Clark, and started Benny Feilhaber and 23-year-old Alejandro Bedoya in the midfield instead of Landon Donovan, who moved up to forward, and Clint Dempsey, who remained in England with Fulham ahead of the Premier League opener.

MLS scoring leader Edson Buddle started up front in place of Robbie Findley, who was ineffective in South Africa.

Omar Gonzalez made his international debut at central defender in place of Oguchi Onyewu.

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