Brazil vs. Honduras: Score, Grades and Reaction from International Friendly

If Wednesday night was a preview of what's to come at Copa America, Brazil look primed for their sixth championship. 

Roberto Firmino scored a goal in the 33rd minute and Brazil dominated the pacing throughout, earning a 1-0 win over Honduras in their final tuneup before heading to Chile.

POS	Player	Grade
G	Jefferson	A
D	Miranda	B-
D	David Luiz	B
D	Filipe Luis	A-
D	Fabinho	B
M	Fernandinho	B
M	Willian	B
M	Philippe Coutinho	A-
M	Casemiro	C+
M	Fred	B-
F	Roberto Firmino	A
D	Marquinhos	C
D	Thiago Silva	B-
M	Douglas Costa	B-
M	Elías	C
F	Neymar	B
F	Robinho	B-

The favored Brazilians did not allow a shot on goal, held possession for nearly two-thirds of the match and appeared in fine form. Perhaps the only frustrations on the Brazilian side were in their own box, where coach Dunga had to decide which stars would be used as subs. Superstar captain Neymar was surprisingly left out of the starting 11, though he was brought in as a sub in the 45th minute to keep his legs fresh.

"All players in this group should be ready to play," Dunga told reporters, per Goal.com. "Obviously I can only choose eleven players, but there are always injuries and cards so those on the bench must be ready for this.

While Dunga smartly emphasized keeping his stars fresh for Copa America, Brazil had no trouble dictating how the match would go. Playing before a relatively sparse crowd at Estadio Beira-Rio, Brazil overcame rough Honduran tactics and consistently got their way near the box.

The Brazilians opened the match with more than a half hour of missed opportunities, with Honduras keeper Noel Valladares playing the star to keep his team in the match. The dam finally broke a bit in the 33rd minute, as Firmino took a pass from Filipe Luis and kicked it between Valladares' legs for the match's only goal. Luis and Philippe Coutinho set up the score with an excellent attack that featured a number of strong passes.

The two sides went into the halftime break with the score 1-0. Brazil likely saw the second half as an opportunity to extend a lead over an opponent that appeared overmatched.

Honduras, though, had other ideas. 

Position	Name	Grade
G	Noel Valladares	A
D	Johnny Palacios	B
D	Henry Figueroa	B-
D	Johnny Leveron	C+
M	Bryan Acosta	C+
M	Emilio Izaguirre	B-
M	Luis Garrido	B-
M	Brayan Beckeles	B-
F	Antony Lozano	C+
F	Boniek García	C+
F	Andy Najar	B-
G	Alfredo Mejia	B-
D	Brayan Alexander Garcia	C
M	Carlos Discua	C+
F	Mario Martínez	C
F	Carlos Mejía	C
F	Erick Andino	C+

Taking an aggressive tack yet again, Honduras were able to stay within a goal by largely holding firm on their strategy. They made 22 tackles to Brazil's 12, committed 22 fouls and made it difficult every time Brazil made their way near the box. Only six of Brazil's 15 shots went on goal, as strong-arming defensive tactics and smart plays by the keeper kept forcing them to come short.

"

Brazil is not taking risks in attack, the game has been boring. I hope it's to preserve energy, otherwise Brazil will struggle a lot in CA.

— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStats) June 11, 2015"

Overall, it was a night for Dunga to see the fitness of as many of his players as possible. Seventeen different Brazilians were on the pitch at one point Wednesday night, and the Brazilian coach appeared to have very clear ideas about when to sub his guys. 

"Winning is important to give us confidence and assessing how the team is doing,” Casemiro said, per Goal.com. "But regardless of how much time I spend on the pitch, I always want to do my best. Brazil always want more, so we have to think about having another good game against Honduras. Then we must keep training hard to improve even more."

Brazil's next big test will come at Copa America, where they have to be considered the favorite from a talent standpoint. Neymar is in the midst of a true coming-out party among the world's best players, and Dunga has a deep coffer of talent he can choose from.

Brazil are a part of Group C with Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. They play the Peruvians in their first matchup Sunday. Most will be fixated on a potential matchup between Brazil and Argentina in the knockout round, where Neymar and Lionel Messi could go head-to-head on the big stage.

For now, though, Brazil will continue their journey after yet another strong friendly showing.