What a treat for the fans of football!, after the Spain v.s South Africa thriller the final between USA & Brazil was hardpressed to produce a similar performance and both teams didn’t dissapoint with a brilliant 3-2 (again) game.
USA raced into a first-half lead through Clint Dempsey in the 10th minute to stun their more illustrious opponents, and a further shock was to be inflicted at a packed Ellis Park Stadium.
Landon Donavon coolly finished off a swift counter-attack from Charlie Davies in the 27th minute to double his side’s lead, and leave Brazil’s players and supporters utterly bewildered.
The second half was one-way traffic, as Brazil continued to pour pressure on their opponents with unrelenting waves of attacks, and Dunga’s side got their eventual rewards.
A clinical finish from Luis Fabiano in the first minute of the second half gave his side the momentum they needed, and although a Kaka headed goal was wrongly adjudged to have not crossed the line, it did little to stifle their conviction.
Fabiano converted the rebound from Robinho’s fierce shot in the 74th minute, which thundered off the crossbar, to prompt a double-defensive change from USA coach Bob Bradley.
As Brazil showered their opponent’s box with crosses, it seemed that Fabiano’s hat-trick may have been imminent, but it was the gangly defender Lucio who powered a headed winner with six minutes left from Elano’s corner.
The way the Americans played showed that they could be a darkhorse in next years World Cup, and in one years time they could actually mould together to be quite a force to be reckon with – Altidore, Donovan, Onyenwu, Dempsey and Tim Howard are the players to watch out for.
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