His three goals for Fluminense against Palmeiras has helped Fred recover from the shock of World Cup where the Brazilian national team crashed out due to shoddy football.

Fred ended the competition with a solitary goal, and was jeered by Brazilian supporters after being subsituted in Tuesday's 7-1 semi-final rout in Belo Horizonte.

Brazil strikers Fred and Neymar engaged in some light-hearted tomfoolery by pretending to bite teammates Marcelo and Dani Alves in training.

The victory secured the World Cup favourites Brazil top place in Group A, with a better goal difference than Mexico, and in theory an easier tie in the second round.

Brazil's Maracana football stadium, one of the sport's most hallowed and raucous grounds, has some new rules of etiquette: remain seated during games and please wear a shirt.

Brazil striker Fred has declared his wish to remain at Rio de Janeiro club Fluminense after reportedly attracting interest from English side Manchester City.

Folha de Sao Paulo declared Luiz Felipe Scolari's team had endeared itself to those yearning for Brazil's return to the "joga bonito". Another daily, Terra, said Neymar had "turned the tables" after Barcelona's 4-0 victory over the 21-year-old's former club Santos in the FIFA Club World Cup final in Japan in 2011.

After scoring his fourth goal of the Confederations Cup in the Maracana Stadium on Sunday, Neymar won the Golden Ball award as the best player of the tournament. "Brazil has shown to the world that this is the Brazilian national team and that we must be respected," Neymar said.

Del Bosque admitted Brazil were far better on the day - Spain looked exhausted and out for the count once Fred bundled in a second-minute opener for the hosts before Neymar and Fred again completed a one-sided affair. "They deserved it, and sometimes it is important to lose," said Del Bosque.

Brazil began the tournament with the words of Pele ringing in their ears, with the legendary No.10 questioning whether Scolari's team were good enough to prevail. Almost as important as the level of performance on the pitch was the re-bonding of Brazil's team with their fans, Scolari said.