RIO DE JANEIRO (BDCi) – – A lethal duo of Fred and Neymar combined with a frenetic and stingy defense gave Brazil a surprisingly easy 3-0 victory over the #1 FIFA ranked Spain on Sunday.
In only the second minute of play, Fred chipped in a goal from the ground that evaded Spain’s keeper Iker Casillas which gave the team and home crowd lots of steam to play on with.
Future Spain pro player Neymar provided insurance in the 44th minute when he stayed onside, received a brilliant Oscar pass on the left side and drilled a shot past Casillas in the upper part of the netting.
Going into the second half up 2-0 didn’t give Brazil comfort; after all, they were down by that score in 2009 to the United States, and they were able to overcome the deficit and beat the Americans 3-2 for that year’s Confederation Cup championship.
So to pile on instead of play not-to-lose, Fred added another goal in the 47th minute. He received a pass wide left in the open and was able to find the inside of the right post, past Casillas who came out of the net.
The 3-0 clean sheet was a pleasant surprise for Brazil, but Spain did have a couple key offensive chances. In the first half Xavi drew Julio Cesar out of the net and kicked a sure goal past him, but defender David Luiz slid and was able to block the ball over the goal post before it could past the goal line. El Rojo also received a penalty kick in the second half that Sergio Ramos couldn’t convert.
With the 2013 Confederation Cup, Brazil wins its 3rd such tournament in a row. It also means that they are sure to improve upon their 22nd world FIFA ranking having beaten Spain, Italy and Uruguay on the way to today’s big win.