The U.S. almost pulled off the big one alright.

With a shocking 2-0 lead over the five-time World Cup champions Brazil after the first half of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup final, it looked like this Cinderella run the Americans have been having will get them their first big championship in the sport.

After the United States soccer team shocked the world by beating a football-crazy nation like Spain in the semifinals, they started to want more than just respectability in the arena of international football. And you can tell that the Americans were inspired to win it all last Sunday too, jumping on the Brazilians right from the get-go with Clint Dempsey kicking it off with a goal on the 9th minute.

U.S. team captain Landon Donovan followed it up with another goal on the 26th minute, giving the U.S. a 2-0 lead over the Brazil football team before halftime.

Unfortunately, that’s where the Cinderella run ended for the Americans as the Brazilians took over in the second half. Down 2-0 with the Confederations Cup at stake, Brazil rallied as Luis Fabiano kicked off his team’s comeback with two goals, one on the 46th minute and another on the 73rd minute to tie it 2-2.

And just before the fixture could go the full 90 minutes, Lucio came up with Brazil’s third goal of the night, giving the Brazilians the 3-2 lead on the 83rd minute. Just then, it dawned on the Americans that the dream is over as Brazil marched on towards its second straight Confederations Cup and third overall.

Landon Donovan is, as expected, disappointed.

”We’re at the point where we don’t want respect, we want to win,” said Landon Donovan, whose goal in the 27th minute gave the United States a 2-0 lead. ”There’s no guarantee we ever get back to a final game like this, so it’s disappointing.”

”We continue to try and move ourselves forward, and playing these kind of games only helps,” U.S. soccer head coach Bob Bradley said. ”But it still feels pretty lousy to let this one get away.”

Want more odds? Visit Bodog sportsbook for more international football odds. Want to watch soccer live? Get sporting events tickets online now.

Confederations Cup Brazil