Johannesburg - Brazilian coach Carlos Dunga on Saturday said he believed that the two best teams in the competition would contest Sunday's Confederations Cup final.

As expected, the five-time world champions Brazil qualified for the final, albeit needing an 88th minute free-kick from Daniel Alves for a hard-fought 1-0 victory against the hosts South Africa.

The Selecao's opponents in the championship match in Johannesburg's Ellis Park stadium will, however, not be the fancied Italians or Spain, it will be the US.

Bob Bradley's team sensationally knocked out the number one ranked team in the world Spain 2-0 in the semi-final.

"I think the best two teams are in the final and they deserve to be," Dunga, who could become the first-ever player to win the Confderations Cup both as a coach and a player, told a press conference in Johannesburg.

He said that it had not been easy for his players. "We had to overcome some problems in the World Cup qualifying and in less than 19 days we have played a great number of games.

"We have a great squad and they are all very committed to playing for Brazil. We have been together for a month and the performance of the team both in terms of the squad performance and individual performance.

"The atmosphere in the squad has been very good and all the players want to play in the Brazilian team. Each one makes best use of the opportunity.

"What we have created is a squad of players who understand each other and are committed to participating in the World Cup next year."

Dunga, who captained the Selecao to the World Cup title in 1994, said that he expected a much tougher game against the US than the 3-0 result his side achieved in the group phase.

"I think it is a game that requires patience. It would be ideal to score early. We will try to apply our normal rhythm and keep possession as much as possible."

He praised the American performance at the tournament. "I think that against Italy they played very well - they showed that they react very fast.

"In order to beat Spain you have to have ability and be good."

He said that he would not release his squad and that it would depend on circumstances which players are brought on and who remains on the bench.

"There are some players who grab all the headlines, while some do a lot of work without grabbing the headlines. You have to have both in any team and it is my experience that a well-balanced team will win.

"We have a saying in Brazil that you need somebody to carry the piano for somebody else to play music and it is like that in football."

He said he believed players worked well with him because he was transparent and told players the truth. "My players know that I am frank and honest.

"I am sincere and I bring a certain freshness. What I say I do and it is then up to them to show that they want to play in the national team."

He dismissed statements from German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, who said on Friday that Brazil would not be able to win the World Cup with the strike force that they had at the Confederations Cup.

"I believe that everybody has the right to an opinion, but numbers are not an opinion they are a fact. And the numbers show that Brazil have scored more goals here than anybody else and also in the World Cup qualifying campaign.

"You can't argue against the numbers, they are not opinion."(dpa)