PARIS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison scored two first-half goals as Brazil eased to a 3-0 victory over Ghana in their pre-World Cup friendly here on Friday.
Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos gave Brazil the lead in the ninth minute with a bullet header following Raphinha's in-swinging corner.
Richarlison doubled the advantage just before the half-hour mark by deftly latching onto Neymar's through ball and sweeping a first-time effort into the bottom-right corner.
The pair combined again on the stroke of halftime when Richarlison flexed his neck muscles to power a header past goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott.
Ghana emerged from the interval with renewed vigor and almost pulled a goal back through Andre Ayew, whose header rebounded off the crossbar following a dangerous Mohammed Kudus cross.
But the African team's resistance proved short-lived as Brazil regained their composure. Despite having the match under control, the five-time world champions were unable to add to their tally as Wollacott denied attempts from Alex Telles, Rodrygo and Neymar in the last 15 minutes.
The match provided one of the last chances for both teams to fine-tune their preparations for the FIFA World Cup, to be played in Qatar from November 20 to December 18.
Brazil's last fixture before the tournament begins will be a friendly against Tunisia in Paris on Tuesday while Ghana will have an opportunity to restore their confidence when they meet Nicaragua in Lorca, Spain, on Tuesday.
Brazil have been drawn in Group G of football's showpiece tournament with Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon. Ghana will feature in Group H alongside Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay. ■