From that, we learned that despite all it has won being world and European champion, Spain still has the deep desire to go all the way even in a hot climate in effectively a mere warmup for next year’s World Cup.

Brazilian fans jeered the Spanish on every field, which smacks of envy. When the players’ rooms were entered and valuables stolen while Spain played an earlier match, the local media suggested that the victims had made the whole thing up.

The Spanish team under its experienced coach, Vicente Del Bosque, is not noted for seeking excuses. Indeed, it is so long now, three years and counting, that Spain has lost a meaningful contest that it would be ludicrous to complain.

Nevertheless, its journey to Sunday’s last game puts it at a disadvantage. Spain played its semifinal in Fortaleza, in the north of the country, a 2,200-kilometer, or 1,400-mile, flight to Rio de Janeiro, where the final is scheduled. Brazil’s match against Uruguay in Belo Horizonte was about a sixth of the distance away, and played 24 hours earlier, giving the host a full day extra to rest and recuperate. And time is of the essence, as everyone who plays in the real thing next year will appreciate and learn. Howard Webb, the English referee for the Spain vs. Italy match, had shed three kilograms, or nearly seven pounds, in weight per game keeping up with the players.

Weight loss and proper scientific recovery is obviously part and parcel of a top sportsman’s lot. The teams are prepared for every eventuality, and, in Brazil’s case, this rehearsal is the closest thing to competitive circumstances that the players will experience between now and their World Cup.

“This team has to face a lot of difficulties,” said Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil’s head coach. “We achieved our goal of getting to the final and giving the players a sense of unity. We have one more objective now, to win this final and to show the fans that we have a good team for the World Cup.”

Scolari is as pragmatic now as he was back in 2002, when he took Brazil to the winning post at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan. He fostered then a unity, a hard core of reliable competitors, some of whom he gradually allowed to express their individuality.