Fearless U.S. braced for Brazil showdown

By Mike Collett

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The United States are one victory away from claiming a major FIFA competition for the first time if they can produce another shock against Brazil when the Confederations Cup competition reaches its climax on Sunday.

Skipper Carlos Bocanegra, whose side were beaten 3-0 by Brazil in their Group A encounter on June 18, insists the U.S. will play without fear against their heavily favoured opponents and adopt an entirely different strategy for this match.

Unlike the U.S., Brazil know all about winning major trophies, crowned world champions five times and seeking a third Confederations Cup victory in attempting to retain the trophy they won in 2005.

"The first time we played Brazil we came out a bit timid," Bocanegra said at a news briefing on Friday. "We gave them too much respect.

"We went out and sat back too much, but we changed it against Egypt, playing with a lot of energy from the start and we carried that into the Spain game. We had a go at them for 90 minutes rather than absorb pressure."

The U.S. beat Egypt 3-0 to secure a surprise semi-final berth and then secured an even more unlikely place in the final with a stunning 2-0 win over Spain, who suffered their first international defeat for nearly three years and 36 matches.

Now Brazil stand in the way of the U.S. scoring what would be a truly historic upset with coach Bob Bradley hinting his side would play another direct, physical game against a higher-ranked opponent.

"It is very important for us to win," he said, explaining how it would help their seeding for the World Cup finals draw being held later this year.