Above it all, above all the samba-driven cacophony, the surround sound of a giddy Maracana and the pulsating, enveloping chanting of Vasco da Gama's superb fans, even above all that pumped up volume the loudest noise that could be heard in this corner of Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night was a fierce hissing.

It began in the 25th minute, escalated two minutes later and then popped just before halftime. Vasco were three goals ahead and Manchester United's inflated evening was blown apart. At once all the interest caused by David Beckham's sending off and United's 10-man comeback against Necaxa on Thursday night dispersed. Even the home fans seemed subdued by the speed and perfunctory nature of it all. Were these United players really the champions of Europe, really so-called world champions once already?

They were entitled to ask the question because this was a confusing occasion, defined by its lack of competitive action rather than the opposite. Not only did the inspiring, pre-match atmosphere vanish with the early evening sun; how can two of Martin Edwards' alleged heavyweights be properly judged when one of them enters the arena only to concuss himself twice?

Effectively that's what Gary Neville's bizarre decision-making amounted to, although just in case England's or Europe's impression is that Neville's errors invalidated the match as a contest of wills, the post-game words of Vasco's manager, Antonio Lopes, should be heard, while no one will forget in a hurry the mesmerising contribution of the cheeky monkey of the moment, Edmundo. Certainly not Mikael Silvestre.

An unpredictable incredible sulk he may be, but, when the fancy took him in the 43rd minute, Edmundo displayed a vivid glimpse of the talents that fuel his gigantic ego. With his back to goal, Edmundo received Gilberto's short pass with a delicious flick, a swivel and then a five-yard spurt. The ball was in the back of the net. Silvestre and Mark Bosnich were grounded. It all took about a second.

Edmundo's celebrations take a good deal longer, of course, and as he ran to the adoring faithful he was roaring "Eu sou foda" - "I am the f**king man". Who could argue?

Edmundo then removed his jersey to reveal a T-shirt (it was only about 100F after all) with a biblical image and the inscription "the King of Light". The natural assumption was that it was a picture of himself, but Edmundo said later that it was of a young Vasco fan who died of meningitis last week.

"The boy's wish was to see Vasco beat Manchester United," Edmundo said, "not win the world championship, just beat Manchester United."

Edmundo ensured that it happened, not just with his goal but with his pass to set up Romario for the first.

That it originated solely from Neville's slack backpass was a perspective Lopes and Edmundo sought to correct. Lopes thought United would pass the ball back a lot, particularly in the hot sun of the first half, and said a specific Vasco tactic was to put pressure on Bosnich's weak kicking. Romario and Edmundo were primed.

"We knew they would be using the offside line as their main weapon," Lopes said. "We have been observing that in detail on video."

Not that it mattered really. If Edmundo's goal came from the imagination of the playground, then Neville's efforts came from the incompetence of it. Here, Romario, have two goals.

"It's all down to mistakes rather than whether you're South American or European," said Neville, refusing one avenue of excuse, "and I made mistakes. That's why we lost. You can't come back from there no matter who you are."

Not even the comeback kings could, though had Ryan Giggs not wasted a marvellous opening with 25 minutes to go, Nicky Butt's later consolation might have created an interesting finale.

But now United are in the embarrassing position of playing South Melbourne tomorrow with even victory not ensuring the dubious privilege of participating in Friday's third place play-off.

Alex Ferguson said it will be "the kids" who face the Australians, and despite his disappointment he restated his belief in the concept of this tournament again yesterday.

Roy Keane was another who made positive comments about the experience even though his claim to be captain of the world champions had lasted only 39 days.

"We have no excuses," Keane said. "We made a massive effort in all our preparations, right down to the last detail, like dieticians. We wanted to win. It felt like a world championship when we got here. What happened in Tokyo is gone."

Indeed. Criticised for their failure to engage with the locals, Gary Neville chose the wrong time to start handing over gifts.

Necaxa's 3-1 win over South Melbourne of Australia means the Mexican side have four points - three more than Ferguson's men - and could still reach the final if they upset Vasco in their last Group B match.

MANCHESTER UTD: Bosnich, G Neville, Irwin, Silvestre, Stam (Cruyff 71), Butt, Giggs (Fortune 77), P Neville, Keane, Yorke, Solskjaer (Sheringham 45). Subs Not Used: Rachubka, Van Der Gouw, Higginbottom, Cole, Greening, Wilson, Berg, Wallwork. Booked: Sheringham. Goals: Butt 81.

VASCO DA GAMA: Helton, Jorginho, Galvao, Amaral, Felipe, Juninho (Oliveira 80), Ramon (Nasa 76), Edmundo, Romario, Gilberto, Junior Baiano. Subs Not Used: Germano, Marcio, Odvan, Donizete, Torres, Miranda, Pedrinho, Valber, Viola, Alex. Booked: Jorginho, Junior Baiano, Nasa. Goals: Romario 24, 26, Edmundo 43.

Attendance: 73,000.

Referee: S K Mane (Kuwait).