Brazil beats US 4-2 in hard-fought game

The game was played at Chicago's Soldier Field, where markings were still visible on the pitch from the American football normally played there. But the gulf in the two countries' footballing traditions was not apparent for much of the game as the US team held its own against Coach Dunga's young Brazilian outfit.

 The US took the lead in the 21st minute when Carlos Bocanegra bundled in a corner.

 Brazil equalized through an own goal by Oguchi Onyewu after a sweeping move from the Brazilian defence exposed the US goal.

 Brazil came out strongly in the second half, with Lucio climbing to head in from a Ronaldhino corner, but Clint Dempsey scored an equalizer in the 72nd minute on a pass by Landon Donovan.

 Brazil restored its lead within minutes when Ronaldinho curled in one of his trademark free kicks from a centre-right position on the edge of the penalty area. The game was put beyond question when Julio Baptista was brought down in the box in the 90th minute, and Elano placed the ball into the bottom right corner.

 "It was a very difficult game," said Brazilian midfield maestro Kaka. "For us it was good training for the next match, which is the start of the qualification for the next World Cup. Now we are ready to start qualification. The team is very young. It's a new cycle for the Brazilian national team."

   "Unfortunately the pitch wasn't the best today," said US scorer Clint Dempsey. "But it was good to play against Brazil, and up until the 75th minute it was a close game. We just want to build on that the best we can, so we can do better in the next World Cup."

DPA