I would save effort (think that is obvious as every .1 of enth counts in second stage) and try to win against Brazil.
Then see how things develop in the groups and if they are not to our liking then maybe lose last two games or so.
Making it into 2nd group and then placing behind US - having to face Chile in the semi-finals would suck.
What I like about first group is (my belief without as much reasearch as one should probably put in before making this judgement) is that the strength is as follows: Chile ------Canada-Mexico------rest, so if we face Mexico in the last 2 games then we will be able to still get 3rd, while in the other group 2 losses probably doesn't guarantee that you will miss out on semifinals.