Brazil Puts USA Soccer Dreams of Glory to Rest

People in this country may not be aware of the magnitude of the upset when USA beat Spain 2-0 at the Confederations Cup last Wednesday. It was bigger than the Miracle on Ice, Truman over Dewey, and David over Goliath.

Brazil's "Beautiful Game" came alive in the second half of Sunday's match ultimately beating USA 3-2 in the finals of the Confederations Cup.

True glory was so close as the U.S. team led a nervous looking Brazil 2-0 at halftime. With the start of the second half, things began to unravel. "We gave up the first goal so early in the second half," U.S. Coach Bob Bradley said.

While Brazil scored the deciding goal in the 84th minute, USA had already raised its international soccer reputation with a victory over Spain that no one expected. Brazil ended the USA dream, but not at the expense of a new regard for the USA game.