JOHANNESBURG — Brazil knows it could have problems winning its second consecutive Confederations Cup if it plays the final against the United States with the same lack of creativity it displayed in the semifinal against South Africa.

Brazil just beat South Africa 1-0 on Thursday after struggling to overcome the host's efficient marking and aggressive defense, needing a late free kick from substitute Daniel Alves to secure a spot in Sunday's final.

"They surprised us," midfielder Ramires said. "We knew they were going to defend well and mark well from the beginning, but we didn't expect the kind of intensity they had."

Despite the talents of Kaka and Robinho, Brazil failed to break through South Africa's tight defense. The duo was not able to put together any decent exchange of passes as they had in previous matches, and couldn't find options to create significant scoring chances.

Luis Fabiano was virtually invisible and the few times the ball got to him he had his back to the goal and was marked by at least two defenders.

"There was no space anywhere," he said. "Everywhere we went there was someone right there with us."

Brazil couldn't find space through the crowded South African midfield and also failed to make good use of its wings, with left back Andre Santos and right back Maicon not making any dangerous runs on the flanks. Maicon, who was one of Brazil's biggest weapons in 3-0 victories against the United States and Italy, wasn't able to find any room and didn't threaten.

"They filled in the spaces pretty quickly and that made things harder for us," Dunga said.

Brazil's defensive midfielders Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo ended up with the ball most of the time Brazil was on attack, and they were not able to connect with the forwards.

Brazil's few opportunities came with long-range shots by midfielder Ramires and a couple of individual runs by Kaka and Robinho.

But Brazil will need to find a solution to its lack of creativity if it wants to beat the United States at Ellis Park to become the first nation to win three Confederations Cup titles, one more than France.

The Americans showed the same kind of intensity when they upset No. 1 ranked Spain in Bloemfontein, constantly blocking shots and intercepting passes to end the Spaniards' 35-match unbeaten streak.

Brazil comfortably beat the U.S. in the teams' second group match, when the Americans had to relinquish their defensive tactics after conceding an early goal.

"It was different because of the goal in the beginning of the match," Dunga said. "They had to attack more, normally they don't do that."

Maicon, Robinho and Felipe Melo scored a goal each to give Brazil the win in that match in Pretoria. The U.S. went on to beat Egypt to barely advance from the group stage and then reached the final with the stunning victory against Spain.

"I think they learned from the first match against us," Kaka said. "It's going to be much harder this time around."

A victory against the Americans will make Brazil only the second team to win consecutive Confederations Cup titles, along with France. Brazil won the competition in 2005 in Germany.