Said this it was a night too forget for Spain as it seemed that it was destined to be the night of Brazil as they were also pushed their 80.000 local supporters & nearly 200 million Brazilians who looked at this tournament as a "release valve" for more than Football issues. Luck was not on the Spanish side either as they missed a penalty & then went down to 10 men when Pique fouled Neymar, which was perhaps harsh.
With all these elements in motion, Brazil was clearly superior on all fronts & deserved their win. This will give them wings for the upcoming 2014 World Cup where they are hosts & look now favourites.
The match could not have started better for Brazil as Fred grabbed a fumbled ball in the 2nd min to score a "deadly psychological goal" that shook Spain & put them on the back foot early. From here it was pressure & more pressure & Brazil literally rattled Spain to play in a manner that the Spaniards have not been accustomed too. Spain lost control & this was the key tonight.
Spain kept losing the ball & Brazil pounced every time to create their chances, opportunities that Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas bravely managed to keep the ball out of the net.
Pride & honour kept Spain standing & Andres Iniesta was one who gave his team glimpses of hope. Spanish winger Pedro nearly managed an equalizer but Brazilian defender Luiz saved on the line.
But when Spain looked like withstanding the Brazilian blows, a 44th min Neymar produced a power-drive goal that put things back into their place.
The second half started like the first, Fred scored the 3rd goal in the 46th min & this was the virtual last nail in the Spanish coffin. Spanish Coach Del Bosque put on Azpilicueta ( on for Arbeloa with a yellow card ), Navas ( for Mata ) & Villa ( for Torres ) to find solutions.
Spain then won a penalty when Navas was fouled by Marcelo & Sergio Ramos missed it which must have been a moral blow to the whole Spanish side. The question will be, why did Ramos take the penalty?
Moving on, things got worst when Spanish defender Gerard Pique fouled a run away Neymar & got a red card, harsh perhaps, but this left Spain with 10 men which was by this stage psychical "destroyed". Obviously, Spain from here had one objective, to limit the damage.
This objective was achieved at a cost that will be remembered for a long time by the Spaniards. The positive elements for Spain tonight is to study well the lessons of this match & this defeat to make some improvements. The right back position needs solutions, Arbeloa is not cutting it in my opinion. Spain also has a problem with its forward line & needs to find a true "goal-square killer", Torres is not the solution & Villa may have his best days passed. The worst part is that Xavi Hernandez, the play maker , can´t keep up with the physical efforts needed in theses types of games as he is getting on in age & a substitute will be hard to find.
But theses are my humble ramblings as they are mild compared to the 45 million Spaniards who all will have their opinions & criticism. The Spanish National Sport is to "kick hard" when your on the ground & I hope we aren't too severe with this great Spanish Team. The reality is that Spain had everything going against them in this FIFA Confederations Cup it was destined for the host team.
Don´t read more further in my last words. Brazil was brilliant tonight & was great in all their games. Deserved winners of this tournament & they have some names that will be soon World Football stars if not already. Thiago Silva & David Luiz are a formidable defensive team, Hulk is a machine, Fred has surprised us all & Neymar is now MVP & the new World Football star. Congratulations Brazil, after all you are 5 times World Champions while Spain has its lone star on top of its emblem.
I have a feeling this World Soccer duel with continue...at least I hope so.
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