Taking another shot at the live-blogging thing. Championship match of the Confederations Cup between the United States national team and Brazil, taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Lineups:

U.S.: Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Jay DeMerit, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector, Landon Donovan,  Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies, Jozy Altidore.

Brazil: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Felipe Melo, Santos, Luisao, Felipe Melo, Kaka, Ramires, Silva, Fabiano, Robinho.

The U.S. is playing without Michael Bradley, red-carded in the Spain match. Benny Feilhaber starts in his place.

A bit of a commemoration here for Marc-Vivien Foe, a midfielder from Cameroon who collapsed and died during the 2003 Confederations Cup. That match was vs. the United States and was played in Lyons and I was there. It was a grim event, and I recall it fairly clearly. Foe went down … and he just didn’t move, and a hush fell over the stadium. It was a quite hot day, and it later was determined Foe had a congenital heart condition. His son is reading a statement. Nice.

Here we go.

U.S. team in a huddle, just before kickoff. It appears that Landon Donovan, often criticized for not being an emotional leader, is doing the talking. He’s only 27, but he’s been around. He has more experience in matches like this than does anyone else on the U.S. side. Two World Cups, two Confederations Cup. He was on the field the day that Foe died.

1st minute: Brazil kicks off. Wearing yellow shirts and blue pants. Always wondered how that came out when their flag is mostly green.  The Yanks need to keep Brazil off the scoreboard for a while. Careful here, lads.

3rd minute: U.S. moves ahead fairly nicely, showing some patience and calmness on the ball. The semi-attack ends with Dempsey taking a no-hope whack from 35 yards.

5th minute: Landon is over on the left, Dempsey on the right. At least for now. It’s 50 degrees at kickoff, which is good soccer weather. Everyone who plays in Europe should be quite comfortable. Gooch already is quite active.

6th minute: First Brazil corner, after a cross from Maicon … who is taking the corner. Altidore heads it away safely. Nice. Dempsey just made a bad clearance, the ball was going out of bounds and he tipped it (and it could have been the sort of thing that turns into an own goal, too, facing backwards and lunging), and Brazil has a corner from the other side. Robinho taking it. This is dangerous stuff. Brazil is brilliant at restarts now. Goes to Kaka on the near post and he heads it wide left.

8th minute: Yanks are going to have a hard time getting forward. No surprise there. Maicon is running loose up the right side, and I guess the Americans are OK with him going up there and crossing the ball forever. Might be able to counterattack behind him, later on.

9th minute: Nice start. Some danger, but not massive, and the U.S. is parrying fairly well. They seem much more confident here. And they’re not behind yet, as they were earlier against Brazil in group play.

U.S. GOAL! Clint Dempsey, 10th minute. Oh. My. Goodness.

Another great cross from Jonathan Spector on a limited push forward, Spector looped it to Dempsey in the near side of the box, on the right, and he volleyed it with a sort of half-crossing right-foot kick, and it rolled into the far side of the net. Not a hard shot. Putting it on the frame was the key. Very nice. Lucio not back in time. We must concede that Dempsey is the most dangerous American player in the box. Wow. Up 1-0. The Yanks officially have a chance to win this.

13th minute: Americans with two more good scoring chances. It started on a long pass ahead from Donovan to Davies, and it turned into a pair of corner kicks, both by Donovan, one to Dempsey, one to Bocanegra. Wow.

16th minute: John Harkes and JP Dellacamera lauding Donovan and his work ethic again. Only one goal in the tournament, that penalty in the Italy match, but he’s been all over the field and he has been the club’s best facilitator.

17th minute: The Yanks surprisingly competitive in time of possession, so far, which is important, because you don’t want to bunker-in this early. U.S. defensive strategy seems to be to let the Brazilians come up the flank, but not up the middle. Can’t argue with that.

19th minute: Carlos Bocanegra kinda mugging Kaka at midfield on a Brazil counter, and he gets a yellow card for his efforts. He has to be careful from now on. That might be hard, with Maicon coming up Boca’s side of the field all the time. Landon back on the left, as the first line of defense against Maicon’s runs.

20th minute: Brazil holds the ball a good long time and is probing but can’t find a soft spot. A couple of shots from distance dash off U.S. defenders clustered near the top of the box. Brazil is trying to feel the Americans’ bones.

22nd minute: Dangerous moment, with Robinho running left and crossing … but knocked away by Gooch, who has been a rock in the middle. … A highlight of Feilhaber’s career, a successful tackle on Kaka in full run.

23rd minute: We must admit, Brazil is spending lots and lots of time in the U.S. final third. But we knew that would happen, didn’t we? Just have to get used to it. The U.S. isn’t going to send a lot of guys forward, especially with a lead.

25th minute: Robinho with a shot from inside the box, a half-chance on the left, and it is deflected again. So far so good. OH. Great save by Howard on a Felipe Melo shot from outside the box. And a yellow on Felipe Melo for climbing over Boca’s back.

27th minute: Maicon is basically a fifth midfielder. He made a cross that was dangerous, headed out, and now we have another Brazil corner. That’s three, right? headed out by the Yanks. But Brazil still standing around.

U.S. GOAL! 2-0 Yanks in the 27th minute. Landon Donovan!

Great goal. Great goal. Perfect counterattack. Text book. Reminds me of the second goal against Mexico, in the 2002 World Cup. Clark wins it just outside the U.S. box, knocks it ahead to Landon, who already is in full sprint going forward. He still has speed. It’s 2-on-2. Great chance and they’re seizing it. Landon feeds it to the sprinting Davies on the left, who carries it toward the box, and feeds it back to Landon, just ahead of the defender Landon has outrun. Nice ball, but a bit too hot to turn into an instant shot. Donovan traps it with his right foot, ahead of the one defender who is back, and Landon knocks it to his left, and carries it forward a bit, and with his left foot hits a low shot that beats Julio Cesar to his left. Great combination. Great speed. This is what the Americans do best. Counter. And Donovan shows he can still finish.

Holy mackerel. 2-nil.

Of course, if any team on the planet can make up a 2-0 deficit, it’s Brazil.

31st minute: Who knows how it will turn out, but up 2-0 on Brazil a half-hour into a FIFA final … could this be the greatest moment in U.S. soccer history? This moment right now, with Donovan’s goal still fresh in our minds? And Dempsey’s? Could be. Hard to imagine it can get much better. Except, maybe, deep, very deep, in the World Cup.

Now to get to half with this 2-0 lead. If possible.

33rd minute: Brazil spending a lot of time just outside the top of the box, with eight guys in white ahead of them, trying to figure out a way through the thicket of U.S. defenders. Not having a lot of success so far. The long-distance shot from Felipe Melo was their best chance so far, and replay showed that it pretty much was right at Howard who, yes, did make sure he was in front of it.

35th minute: Robinho to Santos near the near post, who is alone and shouldn’t be, and he puts on a hard low shot at a steep angle, trying for the far post. Howard parries it. The resulting corner ends in a  header over the frame. Not great opportunities, necessarily, but serious pressure, and deep.

36th minute: Altidore draws a foul and a yellow on Santos, whom he’s in the process of overpowering on the right side of the box. Landon will take the restart about 6 yards outside the right side of the box, not far from the end line. Landon sends it over, and Brazil heads it out. A corner for the Yanks.

37th minute: Over on the left. This corner goes to Julio Cesar and he rolls it forward, and here come the Brazilians. Donovan fouls Fabiano fairly hard, about 15 yards north of the box.  Brazil is dangerous in this sort of restart about 30 yards out, a bit left of center. Santos will take it. Or perhaps Melo. Man, they did nothing with it, just tapping it left. U.S. counters, Davies carries it deep into the Brazil end and puts a little fear of 3-0 in them. Brazil now scattered over the field as the U.S. retreats in good order.

39th minute: Brazil a bit frustrated? Long after an offsides call, Brazil takes a shot. Could have been a yellow.

40th minute: Spector just outfought Kaka for a ball 1-v-1 on the right flank. Whoa. … It strikes me that Brazil did not expect to be outplayed by the USA for 40 minutes, pretty much falling into the same open-to-the-counterattack that snared Spain only four days ago.

41st minute: Robinho has a left-footed crack at goal, pushed over the bar by Howard, who is getting into this. Yields a corner that turns into nothing. A short corner, and nothing. Brazil not doing as much with its corners as I thought it would.

43rd minute: Brazil knocking it around, probing, probing … Maicon tries a crack from 25 yards out that doesn’t go on frame. A little frustration, again? Instead of a high-quality shot, they just give it up. …. Need to get to half with this lead. Maybe 90 seconds to kill.

45th minute: Kaka lets one loose that bangs off a U.S. defender immediately. How many times have we seen that since the Spain match? Since Egypt, for that matter? Corner for Robinho, who puts a decent ball in the box, and Howard catches the deflection. One minute of extra time. Twenty seconds. Giveaway deep. Dangerous moment at the end of the half, Maicon plays it across behind Boca and Fabiano can’t quite reach it. It would have been a goal. For sure.

2-0 at half. Amazing.

What surprises me so far is how Brazil has allowed itself to be drawn into the very same trap that Spain toppled into. Pushing ahead … and getting reckless in throwing numbers forward, apparently convinced the U.S. can’t counter. Yo, Dunga, didn’t you see the Spain tape? The U.S. almost never scores on a defense that is back, and set, but against a disorganized back line, or on a breakout … the Americans can score.

Now, they have to keep pressing. U.S. could get another goal. Or Brazil could manufacture two goals. This is still Brazil.

Second half.

Harkes talking up Landon Donovan again. It’s a man crush. A bromance. Wonder if Landon knows how Harkesy feels.

46th minute: Wow. Game just turned in a hurry. GOAL BRAZIL!

Fabiano takes a ball at the top of the box, turns immediately and hits a hard ball that nutmegs DeMerit, and rolls into the goal to the left of the diving Howard.

That two-goal security blanket down to one. (If this were hockey, someone would be talking about how the two-goal lead is the hardest to defend, which I’ve never quite believed.) Brazil looks instantly energized. This is going to be hard, now. The Yanks need to hold on for the next 10-15 minutes, let the game calm down.

48th minute: Yanks move up, but not with much conviction or enthusiasm. Hard call. Do you try for another goal on a counter, or do you back up a little? On the Fabiano goal, DeMerit was the only U.S. defender in the box.

51st minute: Looks like the Americans are still willing to try to get forward. I think that makes more sense, as long as it’s sensible. Don’t get too stretched, but you’ve got to make Brazil defend at least a little.

52nd minute: At least the U.S. hasn’t given up a second goal instantly, which is something you have to worry about against someone like Brazil. Maybe another five minutes and Brazil’s adrenaline rush is spent?

53rd minute: Ramires has been invisible in this match. He just had a ball shielded away from him by Feilhaber. Which reminded me I hadn’t seen him do anything.

54th minute: Uh-oh, Brazil has a restart from almost the same spot as the first Brazil goal in the group-play match. But this one is headed out by the Yanks, instead of turning into a goal. … Davies makes a mess of a nice 3-on-3 with Landon, playing a bad cross into nothing. Too bad. Donovan had made a nice run, poking the ball past a defender en route.

55th minute: Another Brazil restart, about 38 yards out left side after Feilhaber is caught yanking on Kaka’s jersey. Ball into the box, but knocked around a mob of folks and ends up as an offside.

56th minute: Players of the match so far for the Yanks — Donovan, Dempsey, Howard, Onyewu. Lots of time still though. Lots.

58th minute: Brazil with its eighth corner. Robinho to Lucio, who heads it on goal where Howard makes his best save so far, pushing it off. A rebound shot skies over the bar. That was close! Got to limit Brazil restarts in the attacking third. Far too many going on, especially this half.

Shots of fans. Do they care who wins? Don’t seem to. Just watching two teams that aren’t the home team. Which gave Spain lots of trouble in the third-place match before losing 3-2 in overtime.

60th minute: Kaka with a header into the near corner. NOT a goal. Very very close. Very close. Might have been in. Gonna need more replays. Howard certainly was in the net … OK, replay. Kaka’s shot was IN the goal. Huge break for the U.S. … A huge dollop of the luck I suggested the Yanks would need, in the item written before this one.

What do you do to fix situations like that? Soccer is such a fluid game, that it’s hard to stop and look at replay … but the flag man on the bench side should have seen it and told the referee.

In a just world, Brazil will get a cheap goal, and then we’ll see who’s better over the last half hour.

63rd minute: Brazil taking its ninth corner. This can’t go on.

64th minute: The Americans need to get forward a bit and see if they can catch the Brazilians with numbers. Oops. Giveaway in the attacking end, and the U.S. is trying to get back … and does so in better order than I expected. OK, a prediction. The U.S. is NOT going to hold Brazil to one goal. Actually they didn’t, but the referee’s assistant didn’t see the Kaka “goal.”

66th minute: Nice combination in the attacking end. Almost amazing. These are the Americans? Donovan, Altidore, Dempsey .. and Dempsey hits a dangerous shot from the top of the box that Julio Cesar has to parry.

66th minute: Elano in, the invisible Ramires out. Daniel Alves in, Santos out.

68th minute: DeMerit and Fabiano going for a ball outside the U.S. box … and there is contact … and the call goes against Brazil. That’s a sign of respect for the U.S. team. They don’t get that call even a week ago.

69th minute: U.S. now defending with all 11, basically. The forwards are back chasing passes just inside midfield.

70th minute: A yellow on Lucio. For what? A sort of half-elbow thrown at Altidore. Not a bad call. Lucio didn’t much hit him, but he had evil intent.

71st minute: Fabiano gets a great pass into the box, and Howard comes off his line for a great sliding save almost off Fabiano’s foot. Onyewu let Fabiano run past him. Lots and lots of pressure, but a more dangerous sort of pressure than Spain put on; Spain was just throwing the ball toward the goal. Brazil is creating chances. Good ones.

72nd minute: Davies gets forward and gets one touch away from a 1-on-0 look at the goal. Nice. Apply a little pressure the other way. … Can the Yanks hold on? The back four look tired.

74th minute: BRAZIL GOAL! 2-2. Fabiano puts away a great opportunity. Man, is he dangerous. Charlie Davies had frittered away a good chance on the other end, Brazil sprang to the attack. Kaka runs past Spector, who is tired, on the left flank, crosses it to Robinho, who knocks if off the bar, and Fabiano was sitting at the other post, and heads it in.

75th minute: U.S. subs. Kljestan for Feilhaber, Bornstein for Altidore.

So, no, the U.S. couldn’t hold that 2-0 lead. Can the Americans score? Or do we go to extra time? Character test here. But a problem is that the U.S. effort is predicated on hustle, and running, and the whole team is tiring. You don’t lose your technical skill when you’re tired. It’s like being tall in basketball. You don’t get shorter when you get tired.

77th minute: Game seems a little more open all of a sudden, like Brazil doesn’t feel as if it needs to score right this minute.

Thinking back on the Brazil goal. Consider who was involved — Kaka, Robinho, Fabiano. Those guys make more money in one year than the entire American side does in five.  Those guys are international superstars. Not one guy on the U.S. team fits that description.

79th minute: Nice restart from distance by Landon, who drew a foul on Felipe Melo. Nicesave by Julio Cesar, who comes off his line to grab it in the air before Dempsey can head it.

81st minute: Hey, it’s getting late. Brazil counters. Kaka over on the left, alone, gets it to Robinho who takes a heavy crack from the top of the box. High and wide. Another scary moment.

Kljestan struggling so far. Lots of giveaways, passes to nowhere. The U.S. needs more from him. He’s a problem, not an answer.

BRAZIL GOAL! 85th minute. Lucio.

Elano takes a corner, Lucio runs onto it, behind Dempsey, and hammers it home in the upper-left corner. Nice goal. But we could see this coming.

Just too many chances here. Too many corners. That was number, what, 10? 11? Now, can the U.S. score in the final five minutes? I’d say it’s more likely that Brazil scores another. Americans can’t score against a team that is back and organized.

87th minute: Brazil holding the ball well. knocking it around. If this were Mexico City there would be lots of “Oles!” going on.

U.S. with a corner. Landon will take it. Time to score on a restart. Conor Casey coming on for Ricardo Clark. A big body in the box for this restart. Maybe he can get his shaved head on it. … Decent ball from Landon, Gooch goes up for it and gets a piece of it, while being submarined a little, and the ball goes over the bar.

89th minute: Remember when the U.S. led 2-0? American fans had a giddy 25-30 minutes, anyway.

90th minute: Can the U.S. get one more scoring chance? Lot of tired guys in white out there. Landon in the attacking third, tries a deep cross to Dempsey, who stumbles from fatigue and the ball sails over him and over the end line. Goal kick for Brazil.

91st minute: Three minutes added. I suppose something could happen. Hard to imagine. Brazil has all 11 in its own half now. Of course.

Brazil. Man. How good are they? Every generation comes along and they play with the same utter confidence and certainty that the previous generation did. Down 2-0, and they never panicked. That first goal in the second half was key. And then the Yanks ran out of gas, and cracks opened in the back.

92nd minute: Kljestan gives away the ball at midfield. Might have been a chance. Sacha has been awful in this cameo. Brazil holding it, exhausted Yanks chasing … One minute left. Less than a minute. Gooch heads the ball out, and Boca doesn’t have the juiuce to chase it. Brazil killing time. Down to 15 seconds. The U.S. has no hope.

It’s over. Brazil 3, U.S. 2. Hell of an effort by the Yanks. But Brazil is Brazil and always will be. Can’t just wound the kings. Have to kill them.

Stay tuned for an analysis, coming up.