Confed Cup: Group B
The Confederation Cup kicks off Saturday marching a major event on the soccer calendar. Every 4 years as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup the host nation gets the opportunity to bring in elite soccer teams to compete for a prestigious title. Strap in and gear up, it should be a wild 2 week ride like always.
If you missed our Group A preview, click here.
Group B
Spain
Odds To Win Group: 4/9
Odds To Win Tournament: 13/8
Matches: 6/16 vs. Uruguay @ 6:00 PM EST, 6/20 vs. Tahiti @ 3:00 PM, 6/23 vs. Nigeria @ 3:00 PM
The best team in the world is looking to cement its legacy as the greatest of all time over these next two summers, with visions of winning both the Confederations Cup and the World Cup. While we all know which is the more important title, Spain will be looking to atone for their shocking 2-0 defeat to the United States in the 2009 Confederations Cup semifinal. Their record in recent international competitions says it all: 2008 Euro Cup champions, 2010 World Cup Champions, 2012 Euro Cup Champions. Spain has not only enjoyed a golden generation of players, but those players have capitalized on the opportunities presented to them on the biggest stages. If Spain and its same core group of players can do the unthinkable and win the 2014 World Cup, this team will go down as the best international squad to have ever played the game.
Coach Vicente Del Bosque has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal when selecting a starting eleven. Other international managers would be begging to have half, or even a quarter of the players that Spain brings to this tournament. The squad is so deep and talented that even Vinny Del Negro could probably coach this team to Confederations Cup glory. Xavi and Iniesta are the twin engines that make La Furia Roja run, but they are surrounded by an abundance of talent. Up top, David Villa, David Silva, Cesc Fabregas, and Fernando Torres all provide serious firepower for the Spanish attack. Complimenting Xavi and Iniesta in the midfield are players like Javi Martinez, Sergio Busquets, and Santi Cazorla. Behind them you have experienced defenders like Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique showing the ropes to up-and-coming talents like Jordi Alba and Cesar Azpilicueta. To round out the squad, you have Spain’s captain and most capped player of all time, Iker “The Saint” Casillas, one of the best goalkeepers in the world. I could go on and on about how incredible this team is, but I will leave that to the authors of the future books that will be written about this group of players.
While this squad is the most talented team in the tournament, there are some things working against it. First, the squad’s most important players, Xavi and Iniesta, are getting up there in age and have played an insane amount of games for Barcelona and Spain since the 2008 Euro Cup. These are two of the finest midfielders in the game, but to say their legs are not wary is probably a foolish statement. In addition, Spain’s players are so talented that the vast majority, if not all, are integral to their club teams and have logged a lot of minutes over the past season. Other than that, Spain’s luck is bound to run out at some point. Talent will always play the most important role in determining the outcome of a tournament, but a bit of luck is also needed to claim a trophy. Given how many tournaments Spain has won in the recent years, this could be the year that Spain gets unlucky in a final and goes home as a runner-up. The group stage will be very easy to navigate though, and Spain should easily advance to the semifinals.
Group Prediction: 1st
Uruguay
Odds To Win Group: 5/2
Odds To Win Tournament: 8/1
Matches: 6/16 vs. Spain @ 6:00 PM EST, 6/20 vs. Nigeria @ 6:00 PM, 6/23 vs. Tahiti @ 3:00 PM
La Celeste has struggled in World Cup qualifying but their win this week vs Venezuela should be just what the doctor ordered. Uruguay qualified for the Confederations Cup by winning the 2011 Copa America held in Argentina, and before that went on a magical run to the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup so this team is familiar with what it takes to win big tournaments on the international stage.
To recreate the successes of the last two tournaments, coach Oscar Tabarez is going to need Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez to carry the load once again when it comes to finding the back of the net. The two combined to score 8 of Uruguay’s 11 goals in the 2010 World Cup, with Forlan winning the Golden Ball award given to the best player of the tournament. A year later in Argentina, they scored 6 of the team’s 9 goals to bring the Copa America trophy back to Uruguay. Forlan isn’t getting any younger though, and this could be his last international tournament for La Celeste if they fail to turn it around in qualifying. Suarez had a great season for Liverpool, but will be chomping at the bit (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) to make up for his Mike Tyson impression at the end of the season. The player who needs to step up though is Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, who has scored an abundance of goals for his club team yet has failed to replicate that success for the national team in international tournaments. He only managed one goal in the 2010 World Cup, and could not find the back of the net in Argentina a year later. Cavani scored 29 goals in 34 Serie A games this season. With Forlan and Suarez getting most of the public’s attention, he may be a wise play to make on “First Goalscorer” bets.
Assuming every team in this group beats Tahiti, and that Spain goes undefeated in group play, Uruguay vs. Nigeria could turn out to be an elimination game, with the winner headed to the semifinals. A draw in that match wouldn’t be the end of the world though, as Uruguay would know how many goals it would need to score against Tahiti to advance on goal differential. What could essentially guarantee advancement for Uruguay would be a draw against Spain in the opening match. Spain hasn’t managed more than a draw in its last two tournament openers, which should bode well for Uruguay on their home continent. While Uruguay may be capable of getting a point against Spain, I can’t see Nigeria getting any points in their last match because Spain will be clicking at that point in the tournament with two matches under their belt. The odds are in Uruguay’s favor to advance, though it could be very close if they don’t take care of business against Nigeria.
Group Prediction: 2nd
Nigeria
Odds To Win Group: 11/2
Odds To Win Tournament: 20/1
Matches: 6/17 vs. Tahiti @ 3:00 PM EST, 6/20 vs. Uruguay @ 6:00 PM, 6/23 vs. Spain @ 3:00 PM
The Super Eagles qualified for the Confederations Cup by winning the African Cup of Nations in February. Key to the triumph was a quarterfinal upset-win over Ivory Coast, which spurred the team on to lift their continent’s cup for the first time since 1994. Nigeria was not a favorite to win their continental tournament but given their success there, they won’t be intimidated as an underdog in Brazil. The team has not lost in 2013, though most of the teams they played don’t compare to their fellow Group B competitors Spain and Uruguay.
Leading coach Stephen Keshi’s Super Eagles into the tournament is Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi. He’ll pull the strings for Nigeria much more than he does at Chelsea, and will be the creative presence in the midfield for his country. Two of Nigeria’s most lethal attacking options, Emmanuel Emenike and and Victor Moses, will miss the tournament due to injuries. With this duo not making the trip to Brazil, Keshi will have to rely on Ideye Brown and others to pick up the slack. Overall, Keshi has made some very questionable managerial decisions regarding his Confederations Cup roster. Not included in the squad are experienced forwards Obafemi Martins and Peter Odemwingie, who have combined to score 27 goals in their 94 caps for Nigeria. Keshi has gone the same route he did with his African Cup of Nations roster, where he selected less-experienced players from Nigeria’s professional league. Though he was ruthlessly criticized by the media and Nigerian officials, Keshi was able to silence his critics by bringing home the title. It just remains to be seen whether these decisions will provide the same magic against much stronger international competition.
If Nigeria wants to have any chance of getting out of their group, two things have to happen. First, they must obliterate Tahiti in their opening game. Goal differential could easily come into play as a tiebreaker, and with Uruguay playing Tahiti on the last day of group play, they will know exactly how many goals they need to score should this tie-breaker scenario come into play. Second, Nigeria must get at least a draw against Uruguay. If they don’t take a point or more away from that game, they might as well pack their bags.
Editor’s Note: Nigeria has settled the bonus dispute that almost kept them home for the tournament
Group Prediction: 3rd
Tahiti
Odds To Win Group: 1000/1
Odds To Win Tournament: 5000/1
Matches: 6/17 vs. Nigeria @ 3:00 PM EST, 6/20 vs. Spain @ 3:00 PM, 6/23 vs. Uruguay @ 3:00 PM
I’m not going to waste your time with this one. You only need to look at the odds above to see how big of an underdog Tahiti is in this tournament. This is the Little Giants vs. Urbania Cowboys, except there is zero possibility of a happy ending here. Their surprise run in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup secured their entry into this tournament, but this will be Tahiti’s only trip to Brazil, as they have failed to qualify for next summer’s World Cup. They will be vastly outmatched against every team in their group, and securing a single point would be an incredible feat. Based off their most recent result though, a 7-0 loss to Chile’s U-20 team, Tahiti will do their best to limit the amount of goals they concede and look respectable in front of a global audience. Be prepared to see some ridiculous lines on every game this team plays.
Group Prediction: 4th
Semis and Final
Based off my group predictions, our semifinals would be Spain vs. Mexico and Brazil vs. Uruguay. In the past, underdogs have surprisingly made the finals of this tournament quite often, as Cameroon, Japan, and the United States have all achieved the feat. I’m going to go chalk this year though, and predict that the people get what they want from this year’s Confederations Cup final: Brazil vs. Spain. Should it happen, we can only hope that the match lives up to our expectations. Brazil has won this tournament three times previously, and I think they make it a fourth here, with Spain getting unlucky in the final.
Hope you enjoyed the article, and I’ll be providing my take on individual games and how to play them once the tournament begins.
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