Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar has blamed defensive mistakes for his team blowing a two-goal lead against Italy in Geneva last night.

Fred and Oscar put the Selecao ahead before half time, but Daniele de Rossi and Mario Balotelli led the fightback in the second period.

"The game was in our hands, but we stalled," ESPN quotes Cesar as saying. "They scored two goals from our errors more than by their merit.

"Of course they had merit, but they scored from things we got wrong."

The Azzurri have not beaten Brazil since the 1982 World Cup.