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No cigar for U.S.
Late charge earns Brazil 2nd consecutive Cup
AP Sports Writer
Photo by ANDRE PENNER/AP
U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard, center, drops to his knees after Brazil’s Lucio scored their third and winning goal in the Confederations Cup final Sunday.
Click image to enlarge
Photo by PAUL THOMAS/AP
Brazil’s Luis Fabiano celebrates after scoring the tying goal, his second in Sunday’s Confederations Cup final.
Luis Fabiano scored two of the goals, and Lucio added the third in the 84th minute to give Brazil its second consecutive Confederations Cup title and third overall.
We are in the position where we don't want respect, we want to win.
- Landon Donovan, U.S. goal scorer
It was all looking good for the Americans, playing in the men's final of a FIFA tournament for the first time, in the first half when Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan gave the team a
2-0 halftime lead.
"You realize why these guys are worth so much at times like this, but it's still disappointing," Donovan said. "We are in the position where we don't want respect, we want to win."
Brazil looked like a beaten team in the first 45 minutes, creating little and being constantly stymied by the United States defense and goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Fabiano started the comeback in the 46th minute.
The striker collected a pass from Ramires before turning and shooting past defender Jay DeMerit for his fourth goal of the tournament.
He added a tournament-leading fifth to equalize in the 74th, heading in a rebound after Kaka's cross was kicked against the crossbar by Robinho.
"We gave up the first goal so early in second half," United States coach Bob Bradley said. "We really put ourselves in a tough spot."
Lucio then delivered the decisive goal in the 84th, heading a corner from Elano past Howard.
Dempsey, who also scored in the 2-0 semifinal win over Spain, gave the Americans the lead in the 10th minute by redirecting a cross from Jonathan Spector. Donovan added the second by finishing off some nice passing play with Charlie Davies on a fast counterattack in the 27th.
Spector started the unthinkable after only 10 minutes, running down the right and sending a low cross into the area.
Dempsey, who had plenty of room to maneuver, raised his right leg and put just enough of a touch on the ball to alter the direction and send it past a diving Julio Cesar.
Donovan then got possession at his own end shortly after Maicon had sent in a corner for Brazil from the right.
The United States midfielder ran up the middle, passed to Davies and then reclaimed the ball from his teammate before beating Julio Cesar.
The Americans appeared to get some luck in the 60th when Kaka headed a cross from Andre Santos to the near post.
Howard stepped back into his goal and knocked the shot off the underside of the crossbar and then grabbed it safely in his arms.
Kaka yelled at the referee and his linesman, arguing that the ball had crossed the line before Howard was able to get to it, and television replays appeared to show he was correct.
Brazil has won eight matches in a row and is unbeaten in 16. The five-time world champions also won the Confederations Cup in 1997 and 2005.
And in 15 matches against the United States, the Brazilians have only lost once - a 1-0 result in the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
In the third-place match, Spain fought back to beat host South Africa 3-2 after extra time in Rustenburg.
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