Brazil Has What It Takes to Win Sixth World Cup

Brazil thrashed arch-rivals Argentina 4-1 to win the Confederations Cup in Frankfurt’s Waldstadion on Wednesday.

The World Cup holders started the better and were two goals ahead within the first 16 minutes.

Inter Milan striker Adriano opened the scoring with a fierce drive and moments later Kaka extended Brazil’s lead with a sublime second.

t is the second Confederations Cup crown for the five-time World Cup champions, who were surprisingly straightforward victors over their South American rivals. Germany claimed third place in the tournament earlier in the day, beating Mexico 4-3 after extra time in Leipzig.

“The players worked very hard, and I think they deserved the title,” said Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira after the contest. “We always know that we have excellent players, and it is my job to form them into one team. I am glad that this win showed that we have achieved that.”

Robinho fed the ball to the AC Milan playmaker, who placed a perfect shot past Argentina goalkeeper German Lux into the corner of the net.

Two minutes into the second half, Brazil put the match out of reach when Barcelona star Ronaldinho tapped in a Cicinho cross.

Adriano then scored his second goal of the match with a powerful header midway through the second half.

The header ensured the Inter Milan forward finished the tournament as top scorer with five goals.

Substitute Juan Pablo Aimar pulled a goal back for Argentina with a fine diving header following good work from Javier Zanetti.

Hosts Germany claimed third place in the tournament earlier in the day, beating Mexico 4-3 after extra time in Leipzig.

Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack scored the winning goal with a superb free-kick.3

Pekerman keeps upbeat

Argentina coach Jose Pekerman insisted his side will bounce back following their embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Brazil in the Confederations Cup final.

The world champions stormed to a decisive 4-0 lead after just 64 minutes before Pablo Aimar scored a consolation goal for Argentina.

Pekerman pleaded for calm after the defeat, saying: “We played against the best team in the world and we were more or less an equal opponent.”

“We managed to make it to the finals in this competition which means our competitive level is good enough.”

“We had good and bad moments during the course of this tournament,” he added.

Argentina impressed in their 2-2 draw against Germany in the group match, as well as in the final stages of a closely contested penalty shoot-out victory over Mexico in the semi-finals.

“We will take important conclusions from this tournament,” Pekerman said.

“Argentina are one of the first teams to have qualified for the World Cup and we will continue our development step-by-step, like bringing in new players.”

With Hernan Crespo on vacation, 24-year-old striker Luciano Figueroa made the most of his time in the spotlight, netting four goals including a late extra-time equaliser against Mexico.

Pekerman doubts the devastating loss against arch-rivals Brazil will affect his side’s morale in the build-up to the World Cup.

“Very often it happens that the first cut is the deepest,” he stated. “But these players are used to performing at the top level. They know how to read matches and how to analyse them.”

“For this reason they will know that is was a special match that simply did not turn out in our favour.”

“They played well. We are still a very strong side. Next time you might have a different result.”

“We have the possibilities and the players know they will turn it around in the next matches.”