Pre-Game Primers For The Final

Read the full pre-game press notes here. Some things to look out for:

• Regardless of the result, the U.S. will have achieved its best finish at a FIFA tournament. Their previous best were third place finishes in the 1992 King Fahd Cup (the predecessor to the Confederations Cup), and the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup in Mexico. The U.S. also finished third in the 1930 World Cup, with only eight teams participating in the inaugural world championship.

• After defeating Spain, the U.S. is 2-7-1 all-time against the top-ranked team in the world since the rankings began in 1993. Bob Bradley personally holds a 1-1-1 record against the No. 1 team.

• Bocanegra is one of two players to have previously scored against Brazil and is the only player with multiple goals. He scored the lone U.S. goal in the 2-1 loss of the semifinals of the 2003 Gold Cup, then scored the opening goal in the 4-2 defeat in the friendly on Sept. 7, 2007, in Chicago. Clint Dempsey is the other player with a goal, also on Sept. 7, 2007.

• The Brazilians carry their own streak into today's final, unbeaten now in 15 games stretching back more than a year.

• Brazil hasn’t allowed a goal in their last 305 minutes of action in the Confederations Cup, while the U.S. hasn’t allowed a goal in their last 208 minutes.