Giovanni Trapattoni suffered only the fourth loss of his time in charge of the Republic of Ireland in a 2-0 friendly defeat to Brazil.
Samba stars too strong for Republic despite spirited first-half display
Giovanni Trapattoni suffered only the fourth loss of his time in charge of the Republic of Ireland in a 2-0 friendly defeat to Brazil at the Emirates Stadium.
The Irish made a good impression particularly in the first-half and had a handful of chances before the unfortunate Keith Andrews put through his own net to hand Brazil the lead a minute before the break.
It was a cruel blow to Trapattoni's men, who emerged for the second half a little dejected and were overrun for the remainder of the game, with Robinho doubling Brazil's lead brilliantly on 76 minutes.
The Manchester City forward, currently on-loan at Santos, finished off a long move of 22 passes as he curled into the bottom corner after substitute Grafite teed him up with a delightful back-heel.
The Republic can take some encouragement that the score remained respectable as they were visibly drained from a vibrant second-half Brazil show which saw five substitutes liven up the contest.
Brazil coach Dunga can look forward to fine-tuning the final preparations for his squad's opening World Cup game against North Korea in Johannesburg on 15th June after this run out on English soil.
The Irish, however, will once again be left to reflect on what might have been - but an encouraging battling performance means they can go into the qualifying campaign for the 2012 European Championship with genuine optimism.
Bright start
It had been a bright start by Ireland, officially the away team on Wednesday evening.
Captain Robbie Keane - taking his place in the starting XI after initially pulling out of the squad because of a slight knee injury - got away down the right and ghosted back inside before his low shot was smothered at the near post by Julio Cesar.
Fulham winger Damien Duff looked dangerous down the left channel, while Paul McShane headed over from a corner.
Brazil, though, continued in their fluid formation, as Kaka weaved his way into the Ireland box before being dispossessed on the goal-line and then drilling a 20-yard shot just over.
It was Ireland, however, who almost snatched the lead on 15 minutes when Kevin Doyle's close-range header was palmed away by the Brazil keeper.
Only some desperate defending then kept the yellow shirts at bay after Robinho fed Adriano on the edge of the box.
The Flamengo forward was tackled by Stephen Kelly before McShane blocked the follow-up effort from the former City striker.
The South Americans were queuing up to take a free-kick after McShane's foul on Kaka some 25 yards out, with Adriano eventually whipping the ball up towards goal, which Shay Given tipped over.
St Ledger flashed the ball across the Brazil six-yard box with an overhead kick, but nobody gambled at the far post.
Ireland's luck deserted them for the second match in succession as Brazil took the lead a minute before the break.
Offside shout
Robinho looked offside when he dashed into the right side of the penalty area, before pulling a low pass back across goal, which the unfortunate Andrews deflected past Given, who was making a record 103rd appearance along with Kevin Kilbane.
Both managers resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes for the second half, going again with the same XI.
Blackburn midfielder Andrews squared up to Kaka after the duo clashed on the edge of the Ireland penalty area, English referee Mike Dean soon restoring calm with a stern word.
Trapattoni made the first changes of the evening when Manchester United youngster Darren Gibson and Aiden McGeady replaced Whelan and Duff after 56 minutes.
Brazil, though, continued to press as Maicon skipped into the Ireland box, and his close-range shot hit St Ledger.
It should have been 2-0 moments later, when, with his first touch, substitute Daniel Alves robbed St Ledger and raced clear to round Given - but could only stab his shot wide.
The assistant's flag saved McShane's blushes when he was robbed by Maicon, as in feeding Robinho, Brazil were caught offside as they put the ball in the net.
With 21 minutes left, highly-rated Wigan teenager James McCarthy was handed his full international debut, replacing Liam Lawrence.
Former City man Robinho, then blazed over before slotting home a text-book second after good work from Kaka and a neat one-two with substitute Grafite.
