Neymar leads Brazil to 3-1 win over Japan in friendly

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:52 a.m. ET

LILLE, France (AP) Neymar scored from the spot Friday to help Brazil start its World Cup preparations with a 3-1 win over Japan in a friendly.

Marcelo and Gabriel Jesus also scored for the five-time champions, who got all three goals in the first half at Pierre Mauroy Stadium.

Tomoaki Makino scored for Japan in the second half.

Brazil has embarked on a mini-tour of Europe and will next play England at Wembley Stadium next week.

Both Brazil and Japan have qualified for next year's World Cup in Russia.