Cardiff, May 24: Brazil thumped Wales 3-0 in a friendly match at the Millennium Stadium here - despite coach Wanderley Luxemburgo having to field an under-strength side.Second half goals from Bayern Munich striker Giovane Elber, Roma defender Cafu and Barcelona playmaker Rivaldo did the damage with the home side offering little in attack.Wales suffered a blow on Tuesday when their pacy winger Ryan Giggs, an English Premiership winner with Manchester United, was ruled out an hour before the kick-off.Elber put Brazil ahead after 63 minutes with a close-range effort and Cafu increased their lead seven minutes later with a thunderous drive. Rivaldo struck a third with a flashing header after 73 minutes to round off a comfortable night for the Latin Americans.The closest Wales to scoring was when Charlton midfielder John Robinson hit the inside of the post three minutes after the Brazilians had taken the lead. Giggs had been expected to play but failed even to make the bench due to a thigh injury.It meant Norwich striker Iwan Roberts got a rare chance to play alongside Dean Saunders, making his 73rd appearance for his country.Roger Freestone, the Swansea keeper whose club record of 22 clean sheets was a massive help towards their Third Division championship, made his debut, chosen ahead of Mark Crossley who has not played first-team football at Nottingham Forest since January.Brazil had two players making their debuts, Arsenal's Silvinho and Sao Paulo striker Franca. Eight of their side were Europe-based, including Rivaldo and the hugely experienced Roma trio of Cafu - a 1994 World Cup winner winning his 93rd cap - Antonio Carlos and Aldair.It took the visitors only four minutes to show off their attacking potential. Aston Villa defender Mark Delaney had to slide in with a last-ditch tackle to deny Bayer Leverkusen striker Ze Roberto after a thrilling four-man move had ripped the Welsh defence apart.Rivaldo then went close with a low drive four minutes later with Wales keeper Freestone at full stretch, but thankfully for the home side the ball flew inches wide.The Barcelona star, who was starting to find plenty of space in midfield, then struck a fearsome free-kick after 27 minutes which the Welsh wall did well to block.Welsh coach Mark Hughes had ordered the pitch to be narrowed to deny the South Americans space to attack - but this also worked against the hosts who were hustled out of their stride by the four-time World champions.
