Confederations Cup Final: USA vs. Brazil

Watch on ESPN and ESPN360.com. Kick-off is at 2:30 p.m. eastern.

You would have to be brave to pick anything but a Brazil victory in this one. Still, the US might have a sliver of a chance. It all depends which teams show up.

Will we see the Brazil side that made Italy look positively hapless or the team that took until the 87th minute to beat South Africa 1-0 in the semifinal? (Although, in all fairness to South Africa, they've looked much better in the latter stages of the tournament and it took an extra-time winner from Spain to win 3-2 in yesterday's third-place match.)

Will we see a US team like the woeful one we saw play in the group game when they lost 3-0 against Brazil? Or can the Americans produce another stout display like in their upset of Spain just a few days ago?

Much depends the American defense today. If they can play the same dogged style they stuck to against Spain and maybe catch a break or two (Spain still took over 25 shots and failed to score), then they might be in with a chance. South Africa certainly held on until the bitter end. And up front they will need those moments of inspiration from Jozy Altidore and Landon Donovan (even though Donovan has a nasty tendency to fade into the background in big games.) Players like Clint Dempsey and Oguchi Onyewu will also have to bring clean, physical performances to win balls and spur the counter-attacking game, particularly in the absence of Michael Bradley, who is suspended.

Brazil, meanwhile, is Brazil. Sometimes they look like they might score at will, especially when the magnificent Kaka is on song. But through this tournament they have shown some vulnerabilities defensively. Egypt scored three times against them. Of course, Brazil did score four in that game.

The stakes are much lower for World-Cup-or-Bust Brazil today, but in the end, it is still a final and these are professionals. It would be foolish to say that they won't care as much as the US. No matter where these guys play, whether it's pickup on Copacabana Beach or the Champions League final, they always want to win. As a professional athlete, you don't get to the top level unless you have that killer instinct game in, game out. (Unless, of course, you're in the NBA, but that's a different story.)

All these questions should be answered by about 4:15. You can see it all unfold on ESPN and ESPN360.com (if you are a Verizon subscriber). Kick-off is at 2:30 p.m. eastern.