BRAZIL BROUGHT THE curtain down on a memorable Confederations Cup tournament with a merited defeat of Spain in last night’s final.
The Selecao produced as good a display against the reigning European and World Champions as any other side has managed in recent years and whetted the appetite for next summer’s World Cup tournament in the soccer-mad South American country.
1. Scolari’s formation got the best out of his players
The sight of the Brazilian midfielders hunting in packs and suffocating the space around Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets from the opening minute set the tone for last night’s Confederations Cup victory. Played against the backdrop of rising political tensions and social unrest, Brazil’s footballers proved they are more than capable of winning next year’s World Cup if (and it is a big ‘if’) they can reproduce the form that helped them breeze past Mexico, Italy, Japan, Uruguay and Spain in recent weeks.
Phil Scolari’s 4-2-3-1 formation worked perfectly in allowing Neymar, Oscar and Hulk support lone striker Fred as part of a fluid attacking unit thanks to the solidity provided by defensive midfielders Luiz Gustavo and Paulinho. Add in the fact David Luiz enjoyed one of his best performances in a Brazilian shirt and was ably assisted by Marcelo, Dani Alves and Thiago Silva and Brazil’s were setup perfectly to record an impressive victory.
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2. Neymar delivered on the biggest stage of his burgeoning career
The Barcelona-bound attacking midfielder had a say in all three of Brazil’s goals including a blockbuster left-footed finish to make it 2-0 shortly before the break. Criticised for his over-reactions to repeated fouling in earlier games, Neymar concentrated on his own attacking game last night and tormented the Spanish defence throughout an eye-catching individual display.
Future teammate Pique saw red for a second half lunge on the Brazilian playmaker yet Neymar’s Confederations Cup final appearance will be remembered for the incisive passing, intelligent movement and ability to turn Spanish defenders inside out making the number 10 a shoe-in for player of the tournament.
3. Spain lacked usual their sharpness
There can be little doubt that Spain’s exertions in seeing off Italy on penalties the previous Thursday night coupled with Brazil’s more straightforward semi-final defeat of Uruguay a day earlier affected La Roja’s performance at the Maracana. Fred scoring in the opening minutes meant Spain were expected to press further forward much earlier than they would have liked, forcing the World Champions into uncharacteristic mistakes and giving away possession in key areas. Spain never got going and weren’t permitted to by a fresher, hungrier Brazil giving Vicente Del Bosque plenty to ponder before returning for next summer’s World Cup.
4. Brazil’s support cast stood up when it counted
Neymar will rightly grab the headlines but other Brazilian players produced inspirational performances to ensure the Selecao got the better of Spain in the Confederations decider. Fred’s two goals and superb display in the lone attacking role deserves mention. The striker netted his 8th and 9th goals in 10 games since Scolari took over and looks a certain starter at next year’s World Cup. Julio Cesar pulled off a string of top class saves late on, David Luiz was inspirational at centre back and Hulk proved a constant menace on the wing making it night to remember for the South American side.
5. Arbeloa’s display symptomatic of Spain’s poor display
The Real Madrid defender had what is commonly referred to as a ‘mare’, a nightmare performance, beginning with a series of silly fouls, and was lucky to stay on the pitch for a half-way line hack on Neymar with no other Spanish defender in sight before mercifully being replaced at half time by Vicente Del Bosque.
Arbeloa surprisingly never got to grips with the occasion but he wasn’t alone as Fernando Torres’ inability to get muster any kind attacking threat and Sergio Ramos’ penalty miss cemented a forgettable night for the European and World Champions.
Yet talk of changing of the guard ahead of next summer’s World Cup is premature. Fatigue was certainly a factor in last night’s loss as there were poor individual displays such as Arbeloa’s but Spain remains a threat ahead of next year’s World Cup despite a bad night at the Maracana.
Ger McCarthy is an Irish-based freelance sports journalist and published author. A regular contributor to Irish daily national the Irish Examiner, he also pens weekly columns for both the Evening Echo & Southern Star newspapers. Has written extensively for the Setanta Sports, NewsTalk, and Shoot! Football magazine web sites and is a regular member of Back Page Football’s Hold The Back Page football podcast.His first book ‘Off Centre Circle’ about a lifetime spent toiling in the amateur football leagues of Ireland received critical acclaim.
5 things we learned from the Confederation Cup final
BRAZIL BROUGHT THE curtain down on a memorable Confederations Cup tournament with a merited defeat of Spain in last night’s final.
The Selecao produced as good a display against the reigning European and World Champions as any other side has managed in recent years and whetted the appetite for next summer’s World Cup tournament in the soccer-mad South American country.
1. Scolari’s formation got the best out of his players
The sight of the Brazilian midfielders hunting in packs and suffocating the space around Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets from the opening minute set the tone for last night’s Confederations Cup victory. Played against the backdrop of rising political tensions and social unrest, Brazil’s footballers proved they are more than capable of winning next year’s World Cup if (and it is a big ‘if’) they can reproduce the form that helped them breeze past Mexico, Italy, Japan, Uruguay and Spain in recent weeks.
Phil Scolari’s 4-2-3-1 formation worked perfectly in allowing Neymar, Oscar and Hulk support lone striker Fred as part of a fluid attacking unit thanks to the solidity provided by defensive midfielders Luiz Gustavo and Paulinho. Add in the fact David Luiz enjoyed one of his best performances in a Brazilian shirt and was ably assisted by Marcelo, Dani Alves and Thiago Silva and Brazil’s were setup perfectly to record an impressive victory.
2. Neymar delivered on the biggest stage of his burgeoning career
The Barcelona-bound attacking midfielder had a say in all three of Brazil’s goals including a blockbuster left-footed finish to make it 2-0 shortly before the break. Criticised for his over-reactions to repeated fouling in earlier games, Neymar concentrated on his own attacking game last night and tormented the Spanish defence throughout an eye-catching individual display.
Future teammate Pique saw red for a second half lunge on the Brazilian playmaker yet Neymar’s Confederations Cup final appearance will be remembered for the incisive passing, intelligent movement and ability to turn Spanish defenders inside out making the number 10 a shoe-in for player of the tournament.
3. Spain lacked usual their sharpness
There can be little doubt that Spain’s exertions in seeing off Italy on penalties the previous Thursday night coupled with Brazil’s more straightforward semi-final defeat of Uruguay a day earlier affected La Roja’s performance at the Maracana. Fred scoring in the opening minutes meant Spain were expected to press further forward much earlier than they would have liked, forcing the World Champions into uncharacteristic mistakes and giving away possession in key areas. Spain never got going and weren’t permitted to by a fresher, hungrier Brazil giving Vicente Del Bosque plenty to ponder before returning for next summer’s World Cup.
4. Brazil’s support cast stood up when it counted
Neymar will rightly grab the headlines but other Brazilian players produced inspirational performances to ensure the Selecao got the better of Spain in the Confederations decider. Fred’s two goals and superb display in the lone attacking role deserves mention. The striker netted his 8th and 9th goals in 10 games since Scolari took over and looks a certain starter at next year’s World Cup. Julio Cesar pulled off a string of top class saves late on, David Luiz was inspirational at centre back and Hulk proved a constant menace on the wing making it night to remember for the South American side.
5. Arbeloa’s display symptomatic of Spain’s poor display
The Real Madrid defender had what is commonly referred to as a ‘mare’, a nightmare performance, beginning with a series of silly fouls, and was lucky to stay on the pitch for a half-way line hack on Neymar with no other Spanish defender in sight before mercifully being replaced at half time by Vicente Del Bosque.
Arbeloa surprisingly never got to grips with the occasion but he wasn’t alone as Fernando Torres’ inability to get muster any kind attacking threat and Sergio Ramos’ penalty miss cemented a forgettable night for the European and World Champions.
Yet talk of changing of the guard ahead of next summer’s World Cup is premature. Fatigue was certainly a factor in last night’s loss as there were poor individual displays such as Arbeloa’s but Spain remains a threat ahead of next year’s World Cup despite a bad night at the Maracana.
Ger McCarthy is an Irish-based freelance sports journalist and published author. A regular contributor to Irish daily national the Irish Examiner, he also pens weekly columns for both the Evening Echo & Southern Star newspapers. Has written extensively for the Setanta Sports, NewsTalk, and Shoot! Football magazine web sites and is a regular member of Back Page Football’s Hold The Back Page football podcast.His first book ‘Off Centre Circle’ about a lifetime spent toiling in the amateur football leagues of Ireland received critical acclaim.
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