Daniel Spillane previews the upcoming 2013 Confederations cup which begins in Brazil on June 15th.
It now seems so long ago that Phillippe Lahm was hoisting the Champion’s cup in Wembley to signal the end of the European club season, and even longer since Sir Alex Ferguson said his last goodbyes on the final day of the Premiership. And once Ireland hopefully demolishes the Faroe Islands on Friday evening, one may believe that it won’t be until August when we finally get to witness a competitive football match again.
Fortunately for football fanatics, there is 2 weeks of the beautiful game to get us up to the official opening of the transfer window in July. The 2013 FIFA Confederations cup, hosted by next year’s World Cup hosts Brazil, kicks off on June 15th. The tournament itself is seen as a dress rehearsal for the respective host country before they host the World Cup the following year, with South Africa and Germany being previous hosts ahead of their World Cup tenures. And if past tournaments are anything to go by, it promises to be an entertaining fortnight. Here’s an in-depth preview of each of the 8 participants and what else you can expect from the predecessor to World Cup 2014:
Brazil:
How they qualified:Hosts of the 2014 FIFA World cup
Form: The Pentacampeões have not been as fruitful as their predecessors in recent seasons, losing at the quarter-final stage of the 2010 World cup to Holland and the same stage in the Copa America to Paraguay. Since then they have seen themselves lowered to their worst ever World ranking in 22nd place. Due to their poor string of form, former Chelsea boss and 2002 World cup winning Coach Luis Felipe Scolari has returned to the helm, but may not have the same talented squad which boasted Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka in past years. Brazil will be hungry to impress here ahead of next year’s World cup in front of their own supporters. With the advantage of playing on home soil, they could have a good chance of winning their 3rd consecutive Confederations cup, despite their current ranking.
Who to watch: there are many new players on this team to look out for, Barcelona’s latest signing Neymar is predicted to take the world by storm having finally moved from South America to play in Europe. Chelsea fans can also hope to see their players David Luiz and Oscar in central roles for Brazil
Japan:
How they qualified: 2011 AFC Asian Cup winners
Form: Always a tough team to defeat, Japan have enjoyed some reasonable success recently. A triumph over a strong Australia team in the Asian cup final was complimented by a friendly win over a full strength Argentina and even more recently defeating a star studded Belgium 4-0. They are hardly anyone’s favourites for the tournament but always play an attractive attacking brand of football so may get a result or 2 along the way.
Who to watch: Manchester United’s Shinji Kagawa is the main star for Japan, and should give fans a better outlook on his style after a season playing out of position with United, also keep an eye out for Inter Milan defender Yuto Nagamoto.
Mexico:
How they qualified: 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup winner
Form: Mexico enter this tournament on the back of an impressive couple of seasons. After winning the CONCACAF Gold cup against the USA in 2011 after a comeback from 2-0 down to win 4-2, they surprised the majority of the football world by winning an Olympic gold medal against Brazil at the 2012 London Olympic Games. The CONCACAF champions of 2011 have always managed to impress football fans with an offensive and fast style of play, and should offer Brazil and Italy many problems in the group stages.
Who to watch: Javier “Chicarito Hernandez, another Manchester United star, has netted 32 goals so far for the Mexicans and surely there are many more where they came from. Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Giovani Dos Santos has also been in good form alongside Hernandez recently.
Italy:
How they qualified: 2012 UEFA European Championship Runners up (Spain qualified as World Cup winners thus allowing Italy to qualify as European Reps.)
Form: The Azzurri enter this tournament only by the fact that Spain have qualified as World Champions, leaving the runners up of Euro 2012 to take their slot as European representatives. In saying that, Italy are more than deserving of their place in the cup. Having been written off after a disastrous 2010 World Cup and with much tension in Italy related to match fixing scandals threatening to destroy Italian Football, Cesare Prandelli’s men surprised everyone by reaching the final of the European Championships, overwhelming a much fancied Germany with a superb performance in the semi final. Prandelli has distanced his young team from the more defensive style associated with Italian teams of yester year, and will be one of the teams to watch in this tournament as well as in 2014.
Who to watch: A renaissance for Andrea Pirlo has made him one of the most attractive midfielders in the world at present, and any football fan cannot help but love former Manchester City striker Mario Ballotelli, who has been in stunning form for new club AC Milan.
Spain:
How they qualified: 2010 FIFA World Cup winners
Form: The All Conquering World Champions enter this tournament at a time when their domestic league has come under criticism, mainly for the performance of Barcelona and Real Madrid during the Champions League, with many wondering is their era of dominance coming to an end. Spain’s form has been nothing short of top class and Vicente Del Bosque still has a formidable squad to choose from. They will be aiming to keep their success at International level to perfection with a 4th consecutive major title in their sight in 2014, and will be hungry to win this tournament that eluded them after a shock semi final defeat to the USA in 2009.
Who to watch: We all know of the talent of players such as Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta and Pique, but newer players to break through such as Manchester City’s latest signing Jesus Navas will also be keen to impress. Fernando Torres will also be looking to regain his form for the Spaniards ahead of Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge.
Uruguay:
How they qualified: 2011 Copa America Winners
Form: The South American Champions finally reached the standards that their fore fathers set in the early days of the World Cup by reaching the World Cup Semi finals in 2010, unluckily losing to Holland. They showed that reaching those heights were not a fluke when they cruised to victory in the 2011 Copa America. This team are now established with some of the world’s finest players and being so close to home could feature quite well at next year’s World cup. With some luck on their side they could also add the Confederations cup to their CV on this occasion.
Who to watch: This will be the only opportunity for Liverpool fans until next October to see Luis Suarez in action, not having played since April due to suspension; even though it looks he may not play for Liverpool again. Edison Cavani, a target of Chelsea and Manchester City, will also be in action and can impress on his day.
Nigeria:
How they qualified: 2013 Africa Cup of Nation’s winner
Form: The Super Eagles have had some inconsistent form as of late. The 2010 World cup could only wield one point for Nigeria as they finished bottom of their group, and this was followed up with the failure to even qualify for the 2012 African cup of Nations. However, a change in fortunes emerged for them in 2013 and they won their Continental tournament having defeated Burkina Faso in the final. With some established players on their squad and some new talent breaking through, they could give their opponents some hassle in this tournament.
Who to watch: John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses of Chelsea will be the most notable players for the Super Eagles, Celtic supporters may also recognise Efe Ambrose in Nigeria’s defence
Tahiti:
How they qualified: 2012 OFC Nations Cup winner
Form: It would be fair to say that Tahiti wouldn’t be the most established of footballing countries, and won’t be expecting to contest for honours at this tournament. But as Greece showed us at Euro 2004, every team is to be respected regardless of their background. Ranked at 138th in the world, Tahiti qualified having won the Oceania cup against New Caledonia (never heard of them either) in the final. Winning this tournament also allowed them to progress to the next qualifying round for the 2014 World cup, but they were unsuccessful and one trip to Brazil is all they will be making in the next 2 years. Don’t expect to see them causing too many problems to their opponents but it’s still refreshing to see some new teams getting a shot at International spotlight.
Who to watch: You may not hear of these lads again, but a guy called Steevy Chong Hue is their top scorer, with 11 goals to his name. Don’t expect him to add to his tally.
Who’s going to win?
Two teams will progress from each group, and one would expect to see Spain, Italy, Uruguay and either Mexico or Brazil (Might have to give Brazil the nod due to home advantage and the Scolari factor) progress from each group. Once that scenario develops, you could not see beyond Spain’s experience setting them up for another International trophy. Italy and Uruguay should cause them the most problems.
Two teams will progress from each group, and one would expect to see Spain, Italy, Uruguay and either Mexico or Brazil (Might have to give Brazil the nod due to home advantage and the Scolari factor) progress from each group. Once that scenario develops, you could not see beyond Spain’s experience setting them up for another International trophy. Italy and Uruguay should cause them the most problems.
What else we can expect to see?
The main talking point of this tournament is the use of Goal line technology. A new type of technology called “GoalControl GMBH” will be used at the tournament and should it prove to be successful it may be present again in Brazil next year for the World Cup itself. The majority of the Stadia that will be used for next years tournament will also be getting a trail run and should look impressive, especially the Maracana, which will be hosting next years final. If things go Ireland’s way in the remaining qualifiers, we might find ourselves over there next year shouting for the boys in green, so we better have a look to prepare ourselves! From a spectator’s perspective, some of the world’s best players will bless the tournament with their presence, so the standard of football will be above par. It promises to be an exciting tournament; it’s not to be missed.
The main talking point of this tournament is the use of Goal line technology. A new type of technology called “GoalControl GMBH” will be used at the tournament and should it prove to be successful it may be present again in Brazil next year for the World Cup itself. The majority of the Stadia that will be used for next years tournament will also be getting a trail run and should look impressive, especially the Maracana, which will be hosting next years final. If things go Ireland’s way in the remaining qualifiers, we might find ourselves over there next year shouting for the boys in green, so we better have a look to prepare ourselves! From a spectator’s perspective, some of the world’s best players will bless the tournament with their presence, so the standard of football will be above par. It promises to be an exciting tournament; it’s not to be missed.
No comments:
Post a Comment