Brazil vs New Zealand Olympic Soccer: Score, Grades, Twitter Reaction & Analysis

Brazil is a train.

New Zealand was in the way.

After starting their Olympic soccer tournament off by scoring three goals each against Egypt and Belarus, Brazil scored three more vs. New Zealand in a 3-0 clinic.

The Brazilians were simply on another level than their opponents. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see the difference in talent level between them and New Zealand. Brazil are the most gifted team in London, and they continue to prove just that.

Here’s a complete recap of today’s slaughter.

Tweets of the Day

Match of the Dave got carried away with his prediction of Brazil’s dominance over New Zealand.

"

Score prediction. Brazil 14 - 0 New Zealand.

— Match of the Dave (@MatchOfTheDave_) August 1, 2012"

Janusz Michallik of ESPN noted how effortlessly the Brazilians took control of the match.

"

When you know you are good everything seems easy. Brazil 2-0. #London2012

— Janusz Michallik (@JanuszESPN) August 1, 2012"

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated marveled at Brazil’s flair, comparing them to the world’s favorite theatrical basketball team.

"

Brazil-New Zealand turning into Harlem Globetrotters-Washington Generals. Fantastic piece of skill by Marcelo leads to 2-0.

— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) August 1, 2012"

Jerrad Peters of The Score sang the same tune, comparing the Brazilians’ style to Spain’s.

"

Much prefer watching Brazil to watching Spain. I'll take "fun" over "perfect" any day.

— Jerrad Peters (@peterssoccer) August 1, 2012"

Soccer writer FourFourTom raved about Marcelo and Neymar’s chemistry and speculated about their professional career paths meeting.

"

Marcelo's understanding with Neymar down the left is absolutely unreal. If Real don't fiercely rival Barcelona for Neymar they're crazy.

— FourFourTom (@FourFourTom) August 1, 2012"

Must-See Highlight

Watch Leandro Damiao make a fool out of New Zealand's defender.

Grades for Key Brazil Players

Neymar: A

Neymar was relentless. He didn’t manage to score a goal, but he put pressure on New Zealand from start to finish.

He got off a team-leading seven shot attempts in the match and continues to be one of the hottest players in the Olympics.

Gabriel: A

Gabriel could’ve taken a nap if he wanted to and Brazil still would’ve competed. Despite the dominance of his teammates, Gabriel didn’t coast.

He denied everything New Zealand threw at him, recording one save (that’s all New Zealand threw at him).

Grades for Key New Zealand Players

Chris Wood: D

Wood is the only New Zealand player to have scored a goal in this year’s Olympics. If his team had any shot at shocking Brazil, he needed to show up.

He didn’t, though, as Wood took just two shot attempts the entire match.

Michael O'Keeffe: D-

The only reason why O’Keeffe doesn’t get an F is because he didn’t get any help from his defense. He recorded seven saves, but five of them were in garbage time.

His inability to keep New Zealand in the match for at least 30 minutes took the air out of their upset attempt.

Deciding Factor

Shot Differential

Brazil launched 23 shots at a helpless O'Keeffe. Ten of them were on goal. How many did New Zealand manage?

Ten.

But they only managed to take one in the entire first half, and of course, Gabriel smothered it. It’s impossible to win when you can’t even get off a shot attempt.

While Brazil’s offense is as stacked as it gets, their defense gave New Zealand no chance to put up a fight.

When you combine elite offense with elite defense, you get a special club. That’s what fans are witnessing in Brazil right now.

Man of the Match

Danilo

The Brazilian defender made his impact felt on both sides of the scoreboard on Wednesday. He scored what would be the game-winning goal 23 minutes into the match.

Thanks to him and his teammates' defensive effort, that’s all Brazil would’ve needed to score to leave St James' Park victorious.

What’s Next?

Brazil will move on to the quarterfinals after going undefeated in the group stage. New Zealand went winless, so they’ll be watching the Brazilians with the rest of the world.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels