Americans get rematch with Brazil after Daniel Alves scores late to give Brazil 1-0 victory

Late goal gives US another chance against Brazil

JOHANNESBURG — The United States gets another chance at Brazil. And this time, there’s a nice, shiny trophy at stake.

Daniel Alves scored the only goal on a free kick in the 88th minute for a 1-0 victory at the Confederations Cup on Thursday night, sending Brazil into the final against the surprising United States and ending host South Africa’s upset bid.

The final is the first-ever at a FIFA tournament for the American men. It’s also a rematch of last week’s game in group play, when the five-time World Cup champions crushed the Americans 3-0.

Brazil is 13-1 in head-to-head meetings with the United States, and has outscored the United States 26-8. The lone American victory was a 1-0 upset at the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.

“Brazil, we know well because they beat us pretty badly a week ago,” Landon Donovan said after the U.S. shocked top-ranked Spain in the first semifinal. “They would probably be comfortable playing against us, but I think we’re in a better place now.”

The Americans pulled off one of soccer’s biggest upsets Wednesday with their 2-0 victory over Spain. The reigning European champions had set an international record with 15 straight victories, and had tied Brazil’s record unbeaten streak of 35 games from December 1993 to January 1996.

The U.S. men, meanwhile, had been 1-7-1 against No. 1 teams. Its only other victory against a top-ranked opponent? Brazil, at the Los Angeles Coliseum in the semifinals of the 1998 Gold Cup.

“I didn’t watch the game last night because I was more concerned with the game today,” Brazil coach Dunga said.

Good thing, because the South Africans gave lackluster Brazil all it could handle.

Spurred on by the deafening buzz of their delighted fans’ vuvuzelas, Bafana Bafana unsettled Brazil with a frantic, hustling game of quick challenges and tight defense. As the game wore on and the raucous home crowd sensed another upset in the making, the whistles and cheers grew even louder.

Brazil, normally so smooth and fluid, looked short of ideas and labored to find an opening. Just four days after Brazil routed reigning World Cup champion Italy 3-0, the ball inexplicably seemed to get stuck under the players’ feet.

“There was no space anywhere,” Brazil striker Luis Fabiano said. “Everywhere we went there was someone right there with us.”

With central defender Matthew Booth snuffing out almost every attempted attack from the wayward Luis Fabiano and ineffective Robinho, Brazil’s best chances early on were shots from Ramires, Andre Santos and Kaka that goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune easily saved.

Only Kaka seemed able to direct his passes with any regular accuracy as Bafana Bafana matched their illustrious opponents in skill and surpassed them in effort.

“We knew Brazil would have a lot of possession and we had to get players behind the ball,” Booth said. “But we had a go at them.”

But with time winding down, Ramires was tripped up at the edge of the box by South Africa captain Aaron Mokoena, sending him tumbling.

Daniel Alves had only been on the field for six minutes, but Dunga called on him to take the free kick. He coolly stepped up and curled a shot into the far top corner, silencing the raucous home crowd.

“The game was very close so I put on a very quick player, a very aggressive player, who is strong on set pieces,” Dunga said. “It was one of the few opportunities we were going to have. The foul was right in front of the goal area, so it was perfect for us.”

Despite the loss, the South Africans can take pride in this effort.

Bafana Bafana outplayed Brazil, showing their fans they can be something of a force when they host next year’s World Cup. Teko Modise put three disappointing games behind him and came close to securing a famous win when his 58th-minute shot deflected off defender Luisao and almost beat goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

South Africa displayed far more purpose and skill than in its first-round group, where it progressed with a 0-0 draw with Iraq and 2-0 win over lowly New Zealand.

“Maybe with a year’s preparation, we can win a game like this against Brazil,” South Africa coach Joel Santana said. “You cannot make these mistakes.”