Just one game into the 2013 Confederations Cup, and the tournament is already shaping up to be quite memorable.We've already seen a potential foreshadowing of protests leading up to
the 2014 World Cup, and perhaps those that will take place during the
event, at this year's Confederations Cup.
While protests at major sporting events are hardly novel, there is something jarring about seeing them in Brazil, a nation that seems to have soccer ingrained into its collective DNA and a country that for so long has represented the beauty and creativity of the game.
With a lot of public money spent on new stadiums and the long-term viability of several of those structures, you can understand the public's frustrations. The World Cup may represent so many things to so many people around the world, but for some in Brazil, it only represents a huge chunk of public money being spent on a sporting event.
These protests could very well become one of the central themes of this Confederations Cup, and thus next year's World Cup. It is not cheap to host such events, especially for countries that don't have a modern stadium infrastructure already in place, and the Brazilians may remind the world of that fact.
World and European champions Spain play Uruguay in the first Group B match of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. The match is to be played at the Arena Pernambuco in the port city of Recife in Brazil.
The host nation comfortably beat Asian champions Japan 3-0 in the opening game of the tournament on Saturday night, with new Barcelona signing Neymar in excellent form. Brazil and Japan are in Group A, with Italy and Mexico for company. The latter two face off in their first game of the competition at the Estadio Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.
Meanwhile, the other two teams in Group B - Tahiti and Nigeria - play at the Estadio Mineirao on Monday night.
Spain come into this dress rehearsal for the 2014 FIFA World Cup having won an unprecedented three major titles in succession. The two-time European champions and defending World Cup champions are the top ranked country in the world and boast, arguably, one of the finest domestic leagues in Europe.
Vicente Del Bosque's men will consider themselves strong favourites to qualify for the semi-final, particularly with minnows Tahiti still to come. But once in the knock-out stage, Spain will have unfinished business... not only have La Roja never won this title but the last time, in 2009 in South Africa, they were eliminated in the semi-final by the United States.
Spain eventually recovered to beat the hosts 3-2 in the play-off for third place but anything other than a title win in Brazil this year will be a disaster.
The Spanish armada come into this game unbeaten in this calendar year. They beat Ireland and Haiti last week but, more importantly, they've already played the inaugural World Cup champions in recent months - at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. A goal from Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas and a brace from his Nou Camp team mate Pedro gave Spain a 3-1 win.
Spain have not lost a competitive game since the shock 0-1 defeat to Switzerland in the opening group game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Don't expect that record to be broken just yet.
Meanwhile, Uruguay will bank on a fleet of high-profile stars plying their trade in Europe's elite clubs and leagues for a good show in Brazil. The South Americans will obviously be attuned to the weather conditions and playing surfaces and will probably have more local support.
But the national team has struggled since the Copa America win in 2011 and have not been particularly impressive in qualifying for next year's World Cup. They are, at present, fifth in the qualifying table, behind Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile; Brazil have already qualified as hosts.
Uruguay come into this game after a narrow 1-0 win over Venezuela in a qualifier, with Edinson Cavani the hero. The Napoli striker will be joined by Liverpool's Luis Suarez up front and the two will be expected to provide goals and inspiration.
Oscar Tabárez's men have won only one of their last seven competitive fixtures and the pressure will be on them to deliver against perhaps the greatest national team of recent decades.
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While protests at major sporting events are hardly novel, there is something jarring about seeing them in Brazil, a nation that seems to have soccer ingrained into its collective DNA and a country that for so long has represented the beauty and creativity of the game.
With a lot of public money spent on new stadiums and the long-term viability of several of those structures, you can understand the public's frustrations. The World Cup may represent so many things to so many people around the world, but for some in Brazil, it only represents a huge chunk of public money being spent on a sporting event.
These protests could very well become one of the central themes of this Confederations Cup, and thus next year's World Cup. It is not cheap to host such events, especially for countries that don't have a modern stadium infrastructure already in place, and the Brazilians may remind the world of that fact.
World and European champions Spain play Uruguay in the first Group B match of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. The match is to be played at the Arena Pernambuco in the port city of Recife in Brazil.
The host nation comfortably beat Asian champions Japan 3-0 in the opening game of the tournament on Saturday night, with new Barcelona signing Neymar in excellent form. Brazil and Japan are in Group A, with Italy and Mexico for company. The latter two face off in their first game of the competition at the Estadio Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.
Meanwhile, the other two teams in Group B - Tahiti and Nigeria - play at the Estadio Mineirao on Monday night.
Spain come into this dress rehearsal for the 2014 FIFA World Cup having won an unprecedented three major titles in succession. The two-time European champions and defending World Cup champions are the top ranked country in the world and boast, arguably, one of the finest domestic leagues in Europe.
Vicente Del Bosque's men will consider themselves strong favourites to qualify for the semi-final, particularly with minnows Tahiti still to come. But once in the knock-out stage, Spain will have unfinished business... not only have La Roja never won this title but the last time, in 2009 in South Africa, they were eliminated in the semi-final by the United States.
Spain eventually recovered to beat the hosts 3-2 in the play-off for third place but anything other than a title win in Brazil this year will be a disaster.
The Spanish armada come into this game unbeaten in this calendar year. They beat Ireland and Haiti last week but, more importantly, they've already played the inaugural World Cup champions in recent months - at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. A goal from Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas and a brace from his Nou Camp team mate Pedro gave Spain a 3-1 win.
Spain have not lost a competitive game since the shock 0-1 defeat to Switzerland in the opening group game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Don't expect that record to be broken just yet.
Meanwhile, Uruguay will bank on a fleet of high-profile stars plying their trade in Europe's elite clubs and leagues for a good show in Brazil. The South Americans will obviously be attuned to the weather conditions and playing surfaces and will probably have more local support.
But the national team has struggled since the Copa America win in 2011 and have not been particularly impressive in qualifying for next year's World Cup. They are, at present, fifth in the qualifying table, behind Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile; Brazil have already qualified as hosts.
Uruguay come into this game after a narrow 1-0 win over Venezuela in a qualifier, with Edinson Cavani the hero. The Napoli striker will be joined by Liverpool's Luis Suarez up front and the two will be expected to provide goals and inspiration.
Oscar Tabárez's men have won only one of their last seven competitive fixtures and the pressure will be on them to deliver against perhaps the greatest national team of recent decades.
