PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil -- Oscar, Hernanes and Lucas scored second-half goals on Sunday as Brazil defeated France 3-0 in its final warm-up before the Confederations Cup. Chelsea playmaker Oscar opened the scoring with a shot from close range in the 54th minute. Hernanes added to the lead with a left-footed attempt from inside the area in the 85th, and Paris Saint-Germains Lucas sealed the victory by converting a penalty kick in injury time. The result ended Brazils 21-year winless run against France, and gave the "Selecao" its first victory over a former World Cup champion in nearly four years. A two-time defending champion in the Confederations Cup, Brazil will play Japan in the tournaments opener next Saturday in the capital of Brasilia. Brazil hasnt won a significant title since the 2009 Confederations Cup. "Its good to finally beat a top team, but more importantly, its good to be playing well again," Oscar said. "Hopefully we will be able to get off to a great start at the Confederations Cup as well." The Brazilians hadnt beaten France since a 2-0 win in a 1992 friendly in Paris. In the six matches since, the teams drew twice and France won four times, including the final of the 1998 World Cup and in the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup. Led by Karim Benzema but without many of its top players, France was coming off three losses in four matches this year: to Spain in World Cup qualifying, and to Germany and Uruguay in friendlies. Its only win was against Georgia. The French are second to Spain in its World Cup qualifying group. "We didnt have a lot of opportunities, but we had enough to get a better result," France coach Didier Deschamps said, through a translator. "Its the end of the season and that made things a bit more difficult for us. Facing Brazil here gave us a good chance to show our football." Sundays result marked Brazils first win over a former World Cup champion since 2009. The last victory came against England in a friendly in Doha. Brazil has since failed to beat teams such as Argentina, Portugal, England and the Netherlands. The Brazilians beat Argentina in 2011 and last year, but the teams were using players from local clubs. Brazil struggled during most of Sundays match in front of more than 50,000 at the Gremio Arena in the southern city of Porto Alegre, allowing France to create dangerous scoring opportunities from the beginning. The Confederations Cup hosts improved a bit in the second half and controlled possession after Oscar got them on the board. Oscars goal came after Fred gained possession near midfield and made a run through the left side before passing the ball to the Chelsea midfielder. Oscar easily found the net as the goalkeeper charged toward him. Hernanes came on as a substitute and scored the second goal after a breakaway. Neymar set him up with a one-touch pass inside the area, and the Lazio midfielder fired a left-footed shot that struck the post before going in. Substitute midfielder Lucas scored after Real Madrid left back Marcelo was fouled inside the area. "It was an important victory to give us more composure as we continue on our path to try to win the Confederations Cup," Hernanes said. Since Luiz Felipe Scolari returned to the national team in December, Brazil had previously won only won one of six matches, against Bolivia. The coach who led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title couldnt manage more than draws against Italy, Russia and Chile. Brazil lost 2-1 to England in the coachs debut. But Brazil was coming off a 2-2 draw with England at the new Maracana a week ago. Scolari made only one change to the starting lineup since last Sunday, replacing left back Filipe Luis with Marcelo. Air Max 720 In Offerta .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Scarpe Air Max 360 Scontate . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. http://www.airmaxitaliascarpe.it/scarpe-air-max-270-scontate.html . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Scarpe Nike Air Max Scontate . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Nike Air Max Plus Tn Nere . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. The biggest obstacle in New Zealands path to a first ever Test series win over South Africa is the oppositions pace pack, according to coach Mike Hesson.From a seam bowling point of view, they are strong, they have got a lot of variety, Hesson said in Durban. They have some bounce bowlers, some good swing bowlers, some seam bowlers so that will provide its own challenges.New Zealand are fresh off a 2-0 sweep over Zimbabwe, where their batsmen profited from time in the middle but were not always challenged by a hardworking but tame attack. Donald Tiripano, Michael Chinouya, Chamu Chibhabha and Prince Masvaure all bowled around 130kphs and slower, did not find movement or bounce and offered regular freebies. Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott, Wayne Parnell or Chris Morris are not expected to be as generous.South Africas six seamers, of which three are likely to play, are known for swing, seam movement and speed. Even though they have not competed in a Test match in nearly seven months and two of the three first-choice picks - Philander and Steyn - missed most of last summer with injuries, Hesson expects them to pose a serious threat to his line-up.Vernon has played a lot of cricket recently so he has got loads of overs under his belt. He is a high quality bowler. We saw him at his best a few years ago. He hits lovely lengths and we know he is going to provide a challenge there, most likely with the new ball, Hesson said, referring to Philanders outings with the South African A team. Philander travelled to Zimbabwe and Australia where he was his usual miserly self, although he did not lead the wicket-takers list.Philanders hauls in the last two years have decreased significantly from when his career began. But New Zealand will remember his 21 against them in the series in 2012, of which 10 came in the Hamilton Test South Africa won, and his seven in the Newlands match a year later. They will be wary of his ability to tempt batsmen outside the off stump, to create uncertainty with subtle movement and if nothing else, to hold his end while his team-mates attack.It is most likely those team-mates will be Steyn and Rabada, and Hesson mentioned both as men New Zealand would waatching out for.dddddddddddd In terms of Kagiso Rabada, he has got pace, bounce and skill and he is fresh so he keeps running in at you hard. He is someone we are going to have to spend a bit of time on. We know he is a quality bowler. And then when youve got Dale Steyn at the other end, there is no let off.New Zealand will draw inspiration from their recent form - they batted three times in the two-match series in Zimbabwe, registered six centuries and were not bowled out in any of their innings - but remain cautious that run-scoring wont be as simple in South Africa as it was in Bulawayo. We recognise that the surfaces there (Zimbabwe) are significantly different than they are here, Hesson said.What they dont know is exactly how different. There has never been a first-class match played at Kingsmead in August before so nobody knows what to expect from early season conditions. Durban does not get as cold as the rest of South Africa in winter, neither does it get as dry as the inland of the country, so it is unlikely to be too fresh a pitch. It may even take some turn, as it did during a limited-overs series played last August, which New Zealand were part of. If it does, they have come prepared.It depends how dry the wicket is. If we think its going to turn - it turned during the one-dayers last year - we might play two spinners, Hesson said. We wouldnt be afraid playing two spinners, if we felt that it was going to be dry and turn.That was New Zealands strategy in Zimbabwe where they fielded both Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner to back up a three-pronged pace pack comprising Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner. Wickets were spread among them with Wagner topping the charts with 11 scalps and Sodhi (eight), Boult and Santner and Southee (six each) not far behind. On unresponsive surfaces, the five-man attack combined to take 20 wickets twice and win the series.With that in mind, it may turn out that the biggest obstacle between South Africa defending an unbeaten record that has stretched back 14 series from 1931, and New Zealand, is the oppositions pace pack. ' ' '