Spain with a crushing 3-0 win in the Confederations
Cup final on Sunday, ending their opponents' three-
year record run of 29 unbeaten competitive matches.
Two goals from Fred and a stunning left-foot shot from
Neymar gave next year's World Cup hosts their fifth straight
win in the competition as they clinched the trophy for a third
time in a row.
Spain endured a miserable night with Sergio Ramos
missing a penalty early in the second half and Gerard Pique
sent off for a lunge on his new Barcelona teammate Neymar
after 68 minutes.
Fred put Brazil ahead after two minutes, Neymar added a
majestic second just before halftime with his fourth goal of
the tournament and the crowd erupted again when Fred
made it 3-0 two minutes after the re-start with his fifth of the
competition.
The Maracana crowd taunted Spain and chanted "the giant
is back" as Brazil overpowered Vicente del Bosque's team
whose last competitive defeat was against Switzerland at the
2010 World Cup.
"We had a bit of bad luck in the opening minutes of each half
but I don't want to make any excuses, they were better and
that's that," Del Bosque told Telecinco.
"They possibly had a bit more energy than us. Instead of
being 1-1 we went 2-0 down in the last moments of the first
half. But I don't think that right now we can analyse details.
They were superior and that's it."
Brazil started this competition just over two weeks ago with
a third minute goal against Japan and began this final in
similar fashion with an even faster opener.
Fred's second minute hook-in while he was sitting on the
ground lacked the powerful beauty of Neymar's strike
against Japan, but its impact was even more emphatic.
The crowd, who just minutes earlier gave a rousing
rendition of the Brazil national anthem, raised the decibel
levels even higher in celebration to settle Brazil's nerves,
unsettle Spain and put the hosts firmly in control.
Oscar should have quickly doubled the lead but fired wide
after eight minutes when Fred set him up with a clever
backheel, while Paulinho went close in the 14th minute when
he had Spain keeper Iker Casillas back-pedalling to keep his
lobbed shot out.
Spain were clearly rattled by Brazil's rampaging start and
they survived another scare when defender Alvaro Arbeloa
escaped with a yellow card when he was the last defender and
sent Neymar tumbling.
Spain, who usually dominate matches with their intricate
midfield passing moves, showed patches of their usual self-
assured control, but they also looked tired and leggy
following Thursday's exhausting semifinal penalty shootout
victory over Italy.
In contrast Brazil, with Fred, Neymar and Paulinho looking
fresh and powerful, continually had Spain on the backfoot
with a series of swift breaks, often initiated by David Luiz
after some Spanish-style passing of their own.
David Luiz's name boomed through the cavernous ground
four minutes before halftime when he raced back to clear a
goalbound shot from Pedro one metre in front of the line with
Julio Cesar beaten.
Instead of finding themselves pegged back to 1-1, Brazil were
2-0 ahead within three minutes.
Oscar provided the final pass to Neymar who smashed an
unstoppable angled left-foot shot past Casillas into the roof of
the net.
Spain were bidding to become the first team since Uruguay
in the 1950 World Cup's decisive match to beat Brazil in a
competitive international at the Maracana, but after falling
behind so early, that never looked likely.
Instead Brazil fans left believing that coach Luiz Felipe
Scolari, who won the World Cup with Brazil on June 30,
2002, could deliver a sixth world title to the Maracana in a
year's time.
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