RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Any doubts that Brazil are
serious contenders for next year’s World Cup were swept away by a majestic 3-0
victory over world champions Spain as they won the Confederations Cup in front
of an ecstatic crowd at the Maracana Stadium on Sunday.
Inspired by Neymar and Fred in attack, David Luiz at the
back and the indefatigable Paulinho thundering around the midfield, Brazil
ended Spain’s record run of 29 unbeaten competitive matches and brought back
memories of their glory days with their fifth straight win of the tournament.
They began with a scrappy goal from Fred after some shocking
Spanish defending in the second minute, went 2-0 ahead when Neymar lashed an
unstoppable angled left-foot shot past Iker Casillas a minute before halftime,
and wrapped up the match and the title when Fred plundered a third with another
angled shot two minutes after the re-start.
A crucial stop from Luiz after 41 minutes was vital to the
victory, however.
With Brazil 1-0 ahead and Spain beginning to finally make an
impact, the world champions looked set to equalise with a Pedro shot that had
beaten goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
But with the ball about to cross the line, Luiz sprinted
from nowhere, stuck out a leg, and diverted it away for a memorable clearance.
“I owed that one to Julio Cesar after giving away the
penalty against Uruguay,” he told reporters.
“I managed to pay back the debt and help the team.”
Three minutes later Neymar scored at the other end and Spain
were on their way to their first competitive defeat for three years.
Spain, who have dominated the world scene for the past five
years with two European titles and the World Cup, were swept aside.
They suffered their biggest competitive defeat since losing
3-0 to Wales in a European qualifier 37 years ago.
Sergio Ramos, who scored in the semi-final penalty shootout
victory over Italy on Thursday, fired wide with a poor penalty after 54
minutes.
Worse was to follow when fellow defender Gerard Pique was
sent off for a lunge on his new Barcelona team mate Neymar who again stole the
show and was named Player of the Tournament.
RIGHT MAN
Brazil went into the tournament with an indifferent set of
results following the re-appointment of 2002 World Cup-winning coach Luiz
Felipe Scolari last November, with just two wins, four draws and a defeat from
his opening seven matches.
The debate had already began over whether he was the right
man for the job but his team provided an endorsement with wins over Japan,
Mexico, Italy, Uruguay and now Spain.
Sunday’s performance was the best of them all, with Fred’s
second-minute goal lifting the crowd and Neymar’s strike raising them higher
still.
After Fred scored his second of the night and his fifth of
the competition in the 47th minute, sheer joy descended on the Maracana as
Brazil chalked up a third successive win in the competition that FIFA use as a
test event for the following year’s World Cup.
Although the performance was spellbinding, Neymar, among
other players, stressed that Brazil still had a long way to go before securing
an unprecedented sixth world title.
“Let’s keep calm, let’s keep our feet on the ground,” he
said. “We did very well and we are on the right track.
“We needed this time to train, we get to know each other and
to work together and we are much better than we were.”
Julio Cesar added: “There is a lot still to happen, there’s
a year to go until the World Cup, but I really wish that this was the World
Cup. But we’re delighted and it was an amazing experience.”
One explanation for Spain’s poor performance was their
exhaustion after the gruelling, energy-sapping semi-final win over Italy in the
heat of Fortaleza on Thursday.
And while it is too early to make Brazil World Cup
favourites it is also too early to write Spain off.
“We had a bad night,” Casillas said. “But anyone thinking
this team is finished should think again.”
Euronews
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