JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Daniel Alves scored the only goal on a free kick with just two minutes left at the Confederations Cup yesterday, sending Brazil into the final against the surprising United States and ending host South Africa's upset bid.

The Americans stunned Spain, 2-0, Wednesday in the other semifinal, handing the top-ranked team its first loss since November 2006.

Sunday's final at Ellis Park will be a rematch of last week's game in group play, when the five-time World Cup champions crushed the Americans, 3-0.

Brazil is 13-1 in head-to-head meetings with the United States, and has outscored the Americans, 26-8. The lone American victory was a 1-0 upset at the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.

"Brazil we know well, because they beat us pretty badly a week ago," Landon Donovan said after the United States beat Spain. "They would probably be comfortable playing against us, but I think we're in a better place now."

Brazil was a heavy favorite against South Africa. Spurred on by the deafening buzz of their fans' vuvuzela horns, though, the hosts unsettled Brazil with a frantic, hustling game of quick challenges and tight defense.

As the game wore on and the raucous home crowd sensed another upset in the making, the whistles and cheers grew even louder.

Brazil, normally smooth and fluid, looked short of ideas and labored in its efforts to find an opening. Just four days after the Brazilians routed reigning World Cup champion Italy, 3-0, the ball inexplicably seemed to get stuck under the players' feet.

With central defender Matthew Booth snuffing out almost every attempted attack from the wayward Luis Fabiano and ineffective Robinho, Brazil's best chances had been shots from Ramires, Andre Santos and Kaká that South African goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune easily saved.

"We knew Brazil would have a lot of possession and we had to get players behind the ball," Booth said. "But we had a go at them."

South Africa displayed far more purpose and skill than in its first-round group, where it progressed with a 0-0 draw with Iraq and a 2-0 win over lowly New Zealand.

Gold Cup roster. Forward Brian Ching and defender Steve Cherundolo are back from injuries and on the U.S. roster for next month's CONCACAF Gold Cup, joined primarily by national team backups.

Forwards Freddy Adu and Charlie Davies, defender Heath Pearce and goalkeeper Luis Robles are the only holdovers on the roster who also are with the United States at the Confederations Cup.

The new roster will gather Tuesday in Seattle, where the U.S. team starts the quest for its third straight Gold Cup title on July 4 against Grenada.

The Americans will complete the first round against Honduras on July 8 in Washington and Haiti on July 11 in Foxborough, Mass.