Brazil taking Confederations Cup seriously

Anything less than the Confederations Cup title will be considered a disappointment for Brazil, even though coach Dunga admits he will use the tournament to test his squad ahead of next year's World Cup.

Dunga wants to see how his players will handle the pressure in the last major tournament before the 2010 World Cup, but he says Brazil must play to win in order to fend off criticism from fans and local media.

"Brazil needs to win even in practice (matches), imagine in an official competition like this," Dunga said Friday. "Every tournament we enter we must go out there and try to win it. There is no other option."

The coach said he wants to use the Confederations Cup to get to know his players better and see which ones he can count on next year in the World Cup.

"It will be important to know the group," Dunga said. "We'll be able to spend a lot of time together. We will see who is really focused and ready when we need them, see how the players behave in each situation we will be facing."

Brazil had its first practice in South Africa on Friday, and players underwent a light training session as they are still recovering from the long trip from South America a day earlier. On Wednesday, it played a World Cup qualifier against Paraguay, winning 2-1 to move into first place in the continental group.

Dunga said there is still a lot of time before the World Cup and that he will likely still make changes to his squad, but the majority of players from the Confederations Cup should be back next year.

"You need to have a structure in place," Dunga said. "If you try to make too many changes, you won't be able to have a nice base."

Dunga gained much needed confidence after the victories against Paraguay and Uruguay earlier this week in South American qualifying, but he knows that a disappointing result in South Africa could even cost his job.

"It's always nice when you are coming off victories," he said. "But that's already in the past. We have to turn our focus to the next match, that's how it works."

Dunga has been criticised since taking over the national team after the 2006 World Cup despite achieving significant results, including victories over Portugal and world champion Italy in friendlies. In 40 matches, Dunga has led Brazil to 26 wins, 10 draws and four losses.

"He is proving his capacity," Brazil midfielder Gilberto Silva said. "Little by little he is putting his ideas into practice."

A former defensive midfielder, Dunga was Brazil's captain when it won the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Brazil, which won the last edition of the Confederations Cup in 2005 in Germany, will make its debut this year against Egypt on Monday in Bloemfontein. It then faces the United States and Italy in Group B. The top two teams in each of the two groups will advance to the semifinals.

The Brazilian coach said Spain "without a doubt" will be the team to beat this year.

"It's the national team playing the best football right now," Dunga said. "Every team will have to be on alert when playing them."

AP