Quick Report: United States 2-3 Brazil

Brazil came back from two goals down to beat the United States 3-2 in the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup. The winning goal came from captain Lucio with six minutes to go.

Just ten minutes had been played at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park when the USA took a surprising lead with Clint Dempsey scoring from a Jonathan Spector high pass.

And the Americans celebrated again in minute 27. A counter-attack allowed Landon Donovan to push the ball past keeper Julio Cesar for a very comfortable 2-0 lead.

Right at the start of the second half, Brazil showed that the match was far from over as he received a DeMerit pass and turned around to power the ball past Howard.

The goalkeeper went on to make several saves including a deflection onto the crossbar while Brazilians were convinced the ball had already crossed the line.

But in minute 74, the South American champions did get the equaliser they were looking for. Robinho hit the crossbar but Luis Fabiano stood in the right place to head home in the following chaos.

And the winning goal came ten minutes later, as a right-winged corner was headed home by Brazil captain Lucio to hand his team a 3-2 lead. Based on the performance in the second half, the advantage wasn’t undeserved either.

The Confederations Cup trophy is Brazil’s third in history, after taking it home in 1997 and in 2005, the most recent edition. After France, who won it in 2001 and 2003, Brazil are the second team to successfully defend their title.