Brazil's Olympic team delivered, but only just, as they overcame a dogged Singapore Selection 3-0 at the National Stadium last night.

More than 33,000 fans turned up, with many expecting the boys in yellow and blue to serve up a feast of goals.

They almost did, with the Brazilians' attacking triumvirate of Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato and Diego running rings around a static Singapore defence in the first half.

It was Ronaldinho's flick which set up Diego for the Brazilians' opener in the 20th minute.

Seven minutes later, the match was effectively over for the hosts.

To a man, they stood spellbound as coach Dunga's men strung over 30 passes together, before Ronaldinho finished off the move by bundling the ball over the line.

Said Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic: 'We kept losing the ball whenever we attacked. That killed us in the first half.'

But the anticipated slaughter did not materialised after the break.

The introduction of Qiu Li and Fazrul Nawaz changed the complexion of the game, as the Lions came out snarling in the second half.

With Diego and Pato taken off, Singapore began to impose themselves on the Brazilians, who appeared to take their foot off the pedal in the humid conditions.

Juma'at Jantan came the closest to scoring when his piledriver was parried by Renan in the 55th minute. John Wilkinson's follow-up flashed narrowly wide.

The Brazil goalkeeper had to be alert again when he tipped over Qiu's curling effort 10 minutes later.

It seemed the Samba gods are human after all.

Their mortality was reaffirmed in stoppage time, when defender Alex Silva was sent off for an off-the-ball elbow on Qiu.

Dunga, who will be aiming to win his country's first football gold in Beijing next month, paid tribute to the Lions' tenacity.

He said: 'The Singapore team gave me a good impression.

'They had some good moments in the second half and they really tested us.'

Manchester City striker Jo rounded off the scoring with a close-range header in the 81st minute.

The goal is likely to be the last to be scored at the National Stadium, which will be torn down soon to make way for the new Sports Hub.

The match, though, was not quite the perfect swansong for Kallang.

Even Ronaldinho later admitted that his team were not at their fluent best.

'It was not an easy match,' said the AC Milan star.

'The weather was very tough for us. I think we played well, but we are still trying to find our rhythm.'

tvoon@sph.com.sg

Singapore v Brazil
Delayed, Ch5, 10.30pm