Confederations Cup: Braz-iliant comeback breaks American hearts

BRA 3-2 USA

Brazil have managed to retain thier Confederations Cup title after a second-half comeback against the USA.

Clint Dempsey’s flick gave America a dream start, and a Landon Donovan strike, stemming from a classic Brazilian-style counter-attack, to give a 2-0 lead at half-time, and one that seemed to give the American Cinderella story one final chapter.

But the clock seemed to strike midnight when Luis Fabiano pulled one back for Brazil before Kaka was denied an equaliser when his header was wrongly judged not to have crossed the line. Luis Fabiano’s headed second levelled matters before, five minutes from time, captain Lucio rose to meet Elano’s corner to win the game.

After upsetting the odds so spectacularly with their 2-0 semi-final victory over Spain, the US almost tore up the script again, against opponents who had beaten them 3-0 in the group stage of the competition.

Predictably, favourites Brazil had the lion’s share of possession, but the incisive football was played by the American underdogs throughout the first half. The ‘real’ Brazil showed up in the second, however, and their American counterparts could have little say in the matter.

Before the celebrations began, the Golden Ball award for best player was surprisingly awarded to Kaka (he seemed to be Sepp Blatter’s favourite anyway), with top scorer Luis Fabiano, and America’s Clint Dempsey recieving Silver and Bronze respectivley. Tim Howard won best goalkeeper, while Lucio collected the Fair Play Award on behalf of his team. He then made a second trip up the stairs to help his country be crowned champion of champions.

Earlier in the day, Spain sealed 3rd place with an equally dramatic 3-2 victory over South Africa. In a dramatic final 15 minutes (after an extremely dull opening 75), Katlego Mphela’s brace (73′, 90+3′) was sandwiched by two goals from Dani Guiza (88′, 89′). Xabi Alonso scored a free-kick in the second half of extra-time to win that match for the Europeans.

So overall, two games to cap off a brilliantly entertaining competition, and South Africa, on all fronts, proved that they will surely be ready for the bigger festival of football next summer.