Brazil came from behind to beat the USA 3 - 2 on Sunday in the final of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.
The five-times world champions trailed 2-0 at halftime to the hard-running Americans after goals by Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan.
Luis Fabiano pulled one back at the start of the second half and levelled after 74 minutes before captain Lucio headed the winner six minutes from time.
“When we went in at halftime we only heard about was how we were going to come back and we got that at first goal at an important time,” he told reporters.
“It was great that we managed it. It was very hard and we had to fight for it.
“Our first goal was crucial to keep our belief. We scored early enough so that we knew we had plenty of time maybe to go to extra time. Then we got the second one. After that kept the ball, we moved them from side to side, we kept our patience and we got the third.”
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The USA have stunned the World’s number one team Spain 2 - 0 to reach the finals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.
A first half strike from Villarreal’s Jozy Altidore and another 16 minutes from time by Fulham’s Clint Dempsey did the damage on Wednesday in what will go down as one of the biggest victories in US football history.
They also had a flawless performance by Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard and a commendable defensive display to thank for earning them a shot at the trophy on Sunday against either Brazil or hosts South Africa.
“When you play Spain you certainly have to work very hard as a group to defend. We made a special point to close down Xavi as best we could to prevent his penetrative passes,” said Bradley.
“We felt strongly that when we got the ball we needed to be aggressive and have the confidence that we could keep the ball and move it.
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Mfundo Mkhize, a student in his final year at the AFDA film school in Johannesburg, has been given the opportunity of a lifetime by Coca-Cola when he was selected to direct the commercial that will launch the new Open Happiness global platform in the context of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. Coca-Cola has spent the past month scouting the film school in South Africa searching for the right person to direct the ad, and the final decision to offer the opportunity to Mkhize was made two weeks ago, based on his education, experience and above all his positive attitude and determination to succeed.
What Coca-Cola have bought into and fallen in love with is Mkhize’s youthful vision for football and the brand. He thinks outside the box and instead of asking the question “why” Mkhize asks “why not?”The unusual decision to allow a student to direct the Coca-Cola 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup ad shows the company’s trust in the South African youth who are the countries future leaders and role models, and what they lack in experience they make up for with passion, drive and enthusiasm. Read the rest of this entry »
Bafana Bafana have axed their leading point scorer Benni McCarthy from the provisional 30-man squad for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
Record Bafana Bafana (The Boys) scorer McCarthy had been expected to get the nod from Brazil-born coach Joel Santana despite shunning recent friendlies against Norway and Portugal.
Blackburn Rovers striker McCarthy, scorer of 31 goals for South Africa, claimed he was injured despite being cleared to play by medical staff at the English Premiership strugglers.
Santana and various predecessors have treated McCarthy with kid gloves despite a controversial national team career since bursting into the limelight at the 1998 African Nations Cup.
McCarthy becomes available and unavailable for the national squad with alarmingly frequency, although the failure of South Africa to produce world-class strikers sometimes leaves coaches with no option but to pick him.
“I’m happy the coach has finally made this decision regarding McCarthy,” said Gordon Igesund, who has guided numerous big and small South African clubs to the Premiership title.
He told the Kickoff football magazine website: “This is a good lesson that there is no player bigger than the country and that everyone deserves the same treatment.
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