The U.S. men's national team takes on Brazil this morning (9:55am, ESPN2) in what comes close to must-win mode if the Americans want to advance to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup.

Fresh from a disappointing 3-1 loss to Italy, the Americans have some positives to look back on and will get some very good tests from the five-time world champions. Kaka leads the way for Brazil, which also boasts the likes of Robinho, Elano and Dani Alves, and is coming off a 4-3 victory against Egypt on Monday.

I will be providing live commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow along here, and as always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action:

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FINAL– That's all for me right now. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the match in the comments section below.

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FINAL Brazil 3, USA 0. Just an awful performance today. Some USA players got chances to prove themselves today and some only proved that they don't need to be starting for the U.S. national team anytime soon.

The players weren't the only ones to blame. Bob Bradley made some decisions today that can only be called terrible. He went with DaMarcus Beasley and Sacha Kljestan and neither delivered and each played a major part in the team losing.

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93rd minute– Baptista sends the free kick way high. Mercy kick.

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91st minute– Brazil with a very dangerous free kick late.

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90th minute– You know who enjoyed watching today's game? Mexico.

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89th minute– Casey heads a free kick off the crossbar. SO CLOSE.

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86th Minute– Dempsey just tried and failed to deliver a trick pass when he had Feilhaber just a few years away. What a joke.

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83rd Minute– GREAT sequence by Spector and Donovan, sets up Feilhaber with a chance and he hits the crossbar. WOW, nice sequence. The ball bounced after hitting the crossbar, but bounced outside the goal.

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82nd Minute– What are odds the USA gets a goal in this last eight minutes? I'd say 50/1.

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75th Minute– DeMerit does well to hold up Robinho. He's had a good game today. Donovan, DeMerit and Onyewu have been the only players to really stand out for the USA today.

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75th Minute– Whoever invented the Vuvuzela should be (insert your own violent act here).

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74th Minute– The fact that Dempsey is still playing must mean we won't be seeing him vs. Egypt. There's no way he'll be useful on short rest.

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71st Minute– So the USA is losing 3-0 and plays on Sunday yet Bob Bradley is sitting on an unused sub. What's up with that? Clint Dempsey dosn't need to be on the field at this point.

Harkes rightfully giving Casey a moutful for basically lolligagging around the field.

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71st Minute– Luisao in for Lucio.

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70th Minute– Not a bad free kick in from Donovan, just a bit too high.

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69th Minute– Kaka and Fabiano out, Julio Baptista and Nilmar in. Not bad subs heh?

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67th Minute– What can you say, Brazil is a great team and the USA played like a pub team today.

What can we focus on for the last 23 minutes? Good question.

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62nd Minute- GOAL BRAZIL!!! It's Maicon with the finish. Brazil 3, USA 0. Maicon from close range, the shot is deflected and goes in over Howard's head on the nearpost.

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59th Minute– Dempsey VERY lucky not to give up a penalty on Kaka for a late tackle.

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58th Minute– A man down against Brazil, even worse than being a man down vs. Italy. This game is clearly over but now we'll see who steps up for the USA and plays and who shrivels.

Feilhaber set to come in, hopefully for Dempsey.

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57th Minute– Sacha Kljestan gets sent off for that late challenge. A very late red card. Must have been the fourth official. Ugh.

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55th Minute– SAVE HOWARD!! Great stop on a Kaka shot. Kljestan loses the ball and comes in late on a challenge.

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51st Minute– Bradley sends a long shot just over. The USA needs to take full advantage of the extra space they're getting.

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50th Minute– Some better stuff early. It's clear that BRazil wants to see if the Americans can actually string something together. They're going to look for that third goal on the counter.

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48th Minute– Altidore with a nice chance he sends high off the best USA sequence to date.

It should be noted that Brazil is clearly applying less pressure to start this half.

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48th minute– We're back. 

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HALFTIME– I would have preferred Charlie Davies, but at least Beasley is off the field. As for no Torres or Adu? I'm a but surprised but I'll say once again that this isn't a game for Freddy Adu. Anyone who thinks he will dance around Melo and Silva needs to get a clue. 

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HALFTIME– Conor Casey is in for DaMarcus Beasley. 

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HALFTIME– Brazil 2, USA 0. Bradley's decision to start Beasley has been an outright failure and the Americans look shell-shocked and nothing like the squad that showed so much heart against Italy.

The toughest part for the U.S. team? The fact that this deficit is a product of USA mistakes. The first goal saw Spector beaten to a cross and Howard failing to get out and clear a ball he could have gotten to. The second goal saw Beasley completely lose focus and give up a Brazil counter attack that left the USA defense helpless.

So why am I not advocating for Freddy Adu's inclusion? I happen to think Torres and Davies are better subs for this game, but I would also like to see Adu get a start against Egypt. I want him to get a full 90 to show what he can do.

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45th Minute– Beasley and Dempsey need to come out of this match. I would go with Davies and Torres as replacements.

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43rd Minute– Melo has the ball fall at his feet but he sends his chance high.

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42nd Minute– Brazil with a dangerous free kick.

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40th Minute– Beasley leaves Maicon alone on the flank and the cross leads to a Silva header that goes high. If Beasley isn't replaced at halftime then Bob Bradley's competence will need to be questioned. I have a feeling he will yank Beasley though.

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39th Minute– Nice run from Donovan, but Spector has his cross cleared. Spector might want to hold it up next time. Lucio's winning everything in the area right now.

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38th Minute– Nice, as if this disaster wasn't enough for USA fans, game announcers have to bring up Giuseppe Rossi. Ouch.

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37th Minute– Howard saves a Fabiano shot.

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35th Minute– Robbie Rogers, Brad Davis and Colin Clark, get ready, you might be getting a call very soon.

Anybody else think John Harkes is starting to get worked up? He'd two-foot a Brazilian right now if he were near the field.

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33rd Minute– USA with some good possession but can't find a chance. Onyewu crunches Felipe Melo and earns a yellow card.

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32nd Minute– At the end of the day, this is a young USA team that just seems to lack the toughness to face tough challenges on a consistent basis. Just too many mistakes and too much timid play.

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27th Minute– Who should come in for Beasley right now? Anybody. Charlie Davies, move Donovan to the left wing. Something needs to be done. Anytime Beasley gets the ball it makes you want to cringe.

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26th Minute– And the game is back on.

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24th Minute– The video feed of the game has gone out on this game. Not sure if that's good or bad for American fans.

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23rd Minute– I know coaches don't like making subs in the first half but Bradley needs to take Beasley off the field immediately.

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21st Minute– Beasley was given the chance today and he has failed badly. We're just 20 minutes in but it is clear that Beasley doesn't belong on the field. You CAN'T make mistakes like that and Beasley has made it a habit of making mistakes recently.

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20th minute- GOAL BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Robinho with the finish on a breakaway started when Beasley completely botched a short corner play. Brazil 2, USA 0.

19th Minute– USA corner.

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17th Minute– Not a lot of off-the-ball movement when the U.S. team has the ball. There needs to be more movement because Americans aren't beating anybody 1-v-1.

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16th Minute– Donovan gets Andres Santos one-v-one on the wing but gets dispossessed rather easily.

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14th Minute– Kaka just torches Kljestan to get a cross off in the box, but it's blocked by DeMerit for a corner.

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13th Minute– USA with no real possession early on. Who will step up in their attack?

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11th Minute– Brazil gets another free kick but it is headed away. Brazil with some threatening moments in the area but the USA clears. Beasley with a bad turnover.

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10th Minute– Near as I can tell, the U.S. lineup looks to be playing in this set-up:

——————-Altidore———————

Beasley———-Dempsey———–Donovan

———–Bradley——-Kljestan————–

Bornstein—Onyewu—DeMerit——Spector

——————–Howard———————

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8th Minute– Melo beats Spector to the back-post for that header. Poor foul call and great service and better header.

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7th Minute- GOAL BRAZIL!!! and it's Felipe Melo with the header off that free kick. Brazil 1, USA 0.

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6th Minute– Ramires falls over himself and gets a free kick.

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5th Minute– Robinho wastes the corner.

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5th Minute– Kaka forces a corner.

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4th Minute– Spector looks to be matching up with Kaka early on.

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2nd Minute– Brazil corner.

Dempsey looks to be starting out in a more central role.

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1st Minute– There is Ramires, showing great quickness to turn on Bornstein.

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1st Minute– And we're off.

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PRE-GAME– The broadcast is showing a 4-3-3 formation. Interesting look if that's what we're going to see:

Donovan———-Altidore———–Dempsey

——————–Kljestan———————

———-Beasley———–Bradley————

Bornstein—Onyewu—–DeMerit—–Spector

——————–Howard———————

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PRE-GAME– Man, those horns are annoying. And has Gilberto Silva aged a day in the past decade?

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PRE-GAME– Anybody else loving the fact that this game is in HD? And why is Jozy Altidore ready to burst out laughing during the anthem? must have seen something pretty funny.

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PRE-GAME– Game is coming on and they're showing the teams in the tunnel. Anybdy else think Julio Cesar looks like a bigger Hunter Freeman? I know, random thought.

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PRE-GAME– Count me among those who is already bored with this adidas/Zidane/Messi commercial.

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PRE-GAME– While Onyewu and DeMerit did well against Italy (at least for the first 60 minutes of the game) it will be a very good test to see how they deal with the speedy and trickiness of Robinho. He presents far different problems than Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni did.

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PRE-GAME– So why Kljestan instead of Feilhaber, Torres or Adu? Feilhaber struggled badly vs. Italy, particularly in the second half and I have a feeling Bradley has concerns about his fitness. As for why no Torres or Adu, Kljestan gets the edge on the defensive side of things over both those players. I have a feeling we will see Kljestan focusing on the defensive side of things, and helping out on Kaka and Ramires, rather than attacking, at least early on.

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PRE-GAME– Kaka and Robinho are clearly Brazil's most dangerous players, but Ramires could wind up being the one who gives the USA problems with his speed and skill.

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PRE-GAME– Keep an eye on Maicon today. The Inter Milan right back is arguably the best right back in the world but he's also coming back from a leg injury that forced him to miss the final two months of the Serie A season. If he's healthy he's a handful, which is probably why Bradley wanted a fast combo like Bornstein-Beasley on that side of the field.

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PRE-GAME– For thos wondering, everybody but Ricardo Clark is on the bench and available for the USA. Everyone but Juan is available for Brazil.

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PRE-GAME– If you noticed a lot of empty seats in the first TV images from the game you aren't imagining things. I'm hearing that there are serious attendance issues at the Confederations Cup and organizers have been doing their best to try and hide that fact, including moving fans into sections where TV cameras stay focused on.

In other words, you probably could have scored some tickets if you had gone, but then you might have jumped out a window after hearing those damned horns in person.

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PRE-GAME– Sorry for all the Brazil factoids but I'm just getting you folks up to speed on the competition. It's a young Brazil lineup as Dunga looks to get some guys rest ahead of the Italy game (something I had a feeling he would do).

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PRE-GAME– So who is the most coveted of these young Brazilians? It probably has to go to Felipe Melo. The Fiorentina defensive midfielder has been targeted by the likes of Inter Milan and Arsenal this summer. He's not THAT young (he turns 26 next month), but he's definitely emerged as someone who will be starting for Brazil come World Cup 2010.

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PRE-GAME– Ramires is another name that may not be familiar to all USA fans. The kid is pretty nasty. A skillful two-way midfielder who just recently moved from Cruzeiro to Benfica, Ramires is just 22 and regarded as one of the best young Brazilians in the pipeline. You may remember him from his appearances in the Olympics.

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PRE-GAME– Wondering who the heck Miranda is? He's a highly-regarded centerback for Sao Paolo who has been linked to a move to AC Milan. A 6-foot-1 defender who is still pretty young (he's 24), Miranda will likely be matched up with Jozy Altidore assuming Lucio keeps tabs on Donovan.

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PRE-GAME– So why Beasley? It's pretty simple. Bob Bradley wants to do two things with that move. He wants to play Donovan next to Altidore and he still wants a speedy threat on the left flank to keep Brazil's overlapping fullbacks honest. Today it's Maicon instead of Dani Alves. IF you're starting Donovan up top and you still want some speed on the left wing Beasley is the only player who fits that bill. Both Jose Francisco Torres and Freddy Adu are left-footed but neither would be considered a natural winger or speedy.

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PRE-GAME– I know there's some confusion about the USA lineup but the lineup on the Confederations Cup website has Beasley starting and NOT Benny Feilhaber.

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PRE-GAME– Here is Brazil's starting lineup:

——–Robinho——Fabiano————

—–Kaka——————Ramires——

———Gilberto—–Felipe————–

Santos—-Lucio—–Miranda—–Maicon

————–Julio Cesar——————

Several changes for Brazil. The following starters from the Egypt game are not starting today: Elano, Kleber, Dani Alves and Juan, who is apparently injured.

PRE-GAME– Here is the USA starting lineup:

———–Altidore———–Donovan—————-

Beasley—————————————Dempsey

—————–Bradley—-Kljestan——————

Bornstein—Onyewu———DeMerit——-Spector

———————–Howard—————————

Carlos Bocanegra is still not in the lineup as he recovers from his hamstring injury. Beasley gets a somewhat surprising nod while Sacha Kljestan gets the call ahead of Benny Feilhaber (and others).

I had a feeling Bradley would call on Beasley for this match. I was a bit worried about that, but moreso about the possibility of him playing left back. Having him in the lineup allows Donovan to play up top with Altidore.

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PRE-GAME– STill waiting on lineups as we move to within an hour of kickoff.

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