Brazil comfortably qualified for the knockout round by winning all three of their matches, including a 3–0 victory over the United States, while the Americans finished second in the group on the goals scored tiebreaker ahead of Italy.

The U.S. team would go on to play in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where they were given a special exemption to roster size limits to prevent player fatigue, and reached the tournament's final before losing to Mexico.

[9] Brazil had also previously won the Confederations Cup on two occasions, in 1997 and 2005, while the United States were appearing in their first final in a senior men's competition outside of their home region.

[13][14] The Americans played their first match against Italy and held the World Cup champions to a scoreless first half, despite a red card being shown to midfielder Ricardo Clark, who tackled Gennaro Gattuso in the 33rd minute.

A challenge by Giorgio Chiellini on Jozy Altidore earned a penalty for the United States, which was scored by Landon Donovan in the 41st minute and gave them a half-time lead.

The lead was extended in the 20th minute after DaMarcus Beasley lost possession after a U.S. corner, which was dribbled up field by Ramires and passed to Robinho, whose shot went past Tim Howard into the goal.

[19] Brazil finished their group stage run with a 3–0 defeat of Italy, denying the reigning World Cup champions a berth in the semi-finals by scoring three times in the first half.

[21][22] In their final group stage match against Egypt, the United States took the lead in the 21st minute following a mistake by goalkeeper Essam Al Hadary that allowed Charlie Davies to score from the loose ball in the box.

[24][25] The Americans earned an upset 2–0 victory in the semi-finals, breaking Spain's 35-match unbeaten streak that began in November 2006,[26] and qualified for their first final at a major intercontinental men's tournament at the senior level in what was dubbed the "miracle on grass" by The New York Times.

Jozy Altidore scored the first goal of the match in the 27th minute, shooting from the top of the box and benefiting from a pair of deflections off the gloves of Iker Casillas and the goalpost.

[26] The U.S. held on, despite being outshot 18–9 by Spain, and earned a second goal in the 74th minute with a pass by Landon Donovan that deflected off defenders Gerard Piqué and Sergio Ramos and fell to Clint Dempsey, who turned his body and shot from short range to make it 2–0.

The match remained scoreless for 88 minutes, despite several chances for Brazil that went wide and two saves by goalkeeper Júlio César on a Siphiwe Tshabalala free kick and a long-range shot by Steven Pienaar.

[32] The Confederations Cup ceremony featured 150 drummers, 150 choir singers from local churches, and 20 professional dancers, performing under a large ball with images of the tournament projected onto its surface.

[41] The United States took an early lead in the 10th minute, following a free kick taken by Jonathan Spector that was crossed into the path of Clint Dempsey, who struck the ball with his right foot.

Goalkeeper Tim Howard then made several major saves to preserve the lead amid several Brazilian attacks; the Americans took advantage of a counterattack, with Ricardo Clark running upfield and passing to Landon Donovan, shooting from just inside the box to score in the 27th minute.

[43][44] Brazil reduced the lead in the first minute of the second half, as Luís Fabiano scored in the penalty area by controlling the ball while turning around defender Jay DeMerit.