Brazil defeats Spain for Confederations Cup title

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Neymar said the Seleção made its point perfectly clear to the soccer world with its 3-0 win over defending World Cup champion Spain in the final of the Confederations Cup on June 30.

“Brazil has shown to world that this is the Brazilian national team and we must be respected,” said forward Neymar, who was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. “Today, we had a great victory against the best team in the world, with some of the best players in the world.”

But Spain’s players simply were overmatched by Brazil, which capped an impressive, five-game run to win its third straight Confederations Cup title and fourth overall.

“We had this goal and we ended putting the icing on the cake. All players like decisive games, special ones, even more so against the best team in the world, we are happy,” Neymar said. “We dream of something that is impossible for most, but nothing is impossible, they might be for men, but not for God.”

Brazil needed less than two minutes to whip the crowd of about 73,000 at iconic Maracanã Stadium into a frenzy, as Fred kicked a loose ball past goalie Iker Casillas in just the second minute. That’s all the Seleção would need to end Spain’s 29-game unbeaten streak that started after losing to Switzerland in the first game of pool play at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

“The champion is back,” the crowd chanted.

Neymar doubled Brazil’s lead in the 44th minute by blasting a shot past Casillas, and Fred capped the scoring three minutes into the second half when he curled a shot into the lower-right corner to punctuate an evening where Brazil turned Maracanã Stadium into its personal playground.

“The first minutes and the last minutes of the halves are critical,” Spanish defender César Azpilicueta told reporters. “They scored their three goals at the beginning and ends of the halves, which is the worst time. Those are the most demoralizing moments.”

But what does this mean for Brazil? Something has to give at the 2014 World Cup. No team has followed its Confederations Cup title by winning the next World Cup – a stat that includes World Cup quarterfinal losses on the sport’s biggest stage by Brazil after winning the eight-team tournament the previous year.

However, Brazil hasn’t lost a competitive match at home since 1975, so the Seleção’s dominance will continue at the World Cup or it will come up short just as every defending Confederations Cup champion has done.

“We know that the tournament that we will be playing next year will be a lot more difficult,” Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari told reporters after the game. “Now, we have more confidence. That’s what we needed. We played a very good match. It allows us to have a better idea about the path ahead of us.”

Brazil, despite playing at home, wasn’t expected to dismantle Spain as efficiently as it did. Spain has been ranked atop the FIFA rankings for the past 20 months and had shone in recent tournaments, as it had won the 2008 and 2012 European titles and the 2010 World Cup.

Since losing to Switzerland in 2010, Spain had outscored opponents in competitive matches a whopping 69-11. But it couldn’t score against the Seleção, which outscored its five opponents at the Confederations Cup 14-3. Meantime, Brazil is ranked 22nd – its lowest ever. Brazil’s 22nd ranking puts it fifth in its own continent, behind No. 3 Argentina, No. 7 Colombia, No. 10 Ecuador and No. 19 Uruguay.

“We are happy with what we have done over the last few years,” Spain coach Vicente del Bosque told reporters. “But one loss – you have to look at it, but not overreact to it. We are not content with the loss. But when a team is superior, you have to accept it. It was a deserved defeat.”

Brazil hadn’t played Spain since a 1999 exhibition, and they hadn’t met in a competitive match since the Seleção’s 1-0 win in the first round of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

“The team played very well tonight, even better than we were expecting,” Neymar told reporters. “This is a day that is making us very happy and we know this was a very important win.”

Uruguay falls to Italy, finishes fourth

Uruguay claimed fourth place after falling to Italy, 3-2, in penalty kicks after the teams played to a 2-2 draw through regulation and two overtime periods in Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador on June 30.

Davide Astori gave Italy a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute before Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani tied the game in the 58th minute.

Italy struck again in the 73rd minute when Alessandro Diamanti blasted a shot by goalie Fernando Muslera. Five minutes later, it was Cavani’s turn, as he drilled a free kick past Gianluigi Buffon from about 30 yards away.

The game went to penalty kicks after the teams didn’t score in the 30-minute extra-time period.

Buffon stopped penalty shots by Diego Forlán, Walter Gargano and Martín Cáceres, while Muslera turned away just one shot, as Italy posted its best Confederations Cup showing in history. Uruguay also finished fourth in 1997.