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90' |
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Endgame Summary: The home side has finished the dream journey over a Spanish side that is expected to make a lot of noise in next year's World Cup. Of course Neymar deserves praise and was rewarded the "Man of the Match' distinction over his colleague Fred. The striker did well with the chances handed to him and he will be praised for his two goals but the force that Neymar put upon his opposition was merit worthy. Both David Luiz and Júlio César should be noted as excellent players in the defensive zone. For Spain it was really Iniesta and Xavi in the midfield with no support. Casillas will be disappointed with his performance after watching three goals roll past him but his defense did little to help him. A well deserved victory from Brazil and it only increased the hype around Neymar and his international side on the cusp on the World Cup 2014. Perhaps there is more to be seen out of this Brazilian international side!
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90' |
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Match over |
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90' |
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Two minutes left to play! |
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90' |
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The night is coming to a close with some clever keep away from the home side and the fans cheering on their every move. |
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88' |
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Substitution (in) Brazil -> Hernanes |
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88' |
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Substitution (out) Brazil -> Paulinho |
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86' |
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Yet another great save by Júlio César! David Villa tries from also about seven meters and the shot looks destined for the upper right corner but the keeper is capable of leaping to his left and preserving the score line. |
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85' |
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Only five minutes to go and the stadium is already exploding with joy. Three Confederations Cup victories in a a row is just moments away. |
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82' |
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The Brazilian fan base has created a nice sign for their opponents, "adios" and for the overmatched Spainiards it will probably be a joy to leave Rio de Janiero after this tough loss. |
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80' |
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Excellent save from Júlio César! The ball falls to Pedro from seven meters out and he picks to shoot left of the keeper but his reactions are quick to the draw and he keeps the sheet clean for his side. |
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80' |
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Substitution (in) Brazil -> Jô |
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80' |
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Substitution (out) Brazil -> Fred |
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78' |
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Neymar had yet another opportunity but is stopped at the last moment by his defender. The Brazilian is truly showing his worth on the biggest stage against one of the toughest opponents, even on an off night, that he'll face on the international scene. |
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75' |
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Powerful football from the home side and with fifteen minutes left it might not be too soon to crown Brazil the Confederations Cup winner. |
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73' |
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Substitution (in) Brazil -> Jadson |
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73' |
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Substitution (out) Brazil -> Hulk |
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72' |
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Ramos has yet another look on goal but just like his penalty kick, it rolls past the right goal post. |
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71' |
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Yet La Roja are still playing hard as Xavi prepares for yet another corner. This time from the right side. The corner is cleared back to the Spanish midfield. |
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70' |
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Neymar's effort sails just over the cross bar to the relief of Casillas. |
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70' |
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The situation is only getting worse for Spain as Neymar prepares a free kick from 15 meters. |
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68' |
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Piqué (Spain) is sent off
Piqué sees red for a sweeping slide that prevents a clear goal scoring opportunity for Neymar. Ten men for the next 20 minutes for Spain. |
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66' |
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The latest effor from Navas has no chance of bringing his team any closer to Brazil but Del Bosque's team is still trying to put things together in this second half. |
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65' |
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Twice Spain sees opportunities to put something towards the goal but Júlio César is hardly troubled thanks to a solid defensive wall. |
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63' |
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What an excellent performance from the Brazilian defensive unit. Spain has found hardly any space in the back line and have not managed to squeeze passes through like they have become used to. |
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61' |
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Fans of the Spanish side have to start feeling pressure. If their team cannot manage o put something in the back of the Brazilian net soon it might be too late for any late game heroics. |
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59' |
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Navas's next shot is deflected out for another Spanish corner. Júlio César tries to prevent the corner but Xavi's cross ends up in the keepers hands after a Ramos header anyways. |
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59' |
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Substitution (in) Spain -> David Villa |
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59' |
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Substitution (out) Spain -> Fernando Torres |
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57' |
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Brazil continues to push forwards and look determined to add to their tally against Spain! Their tempo has been remarkable during the first two thirds of the match. |
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55' |
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Sergio Ramos (Spain) missed a penalty
Barely missed by Ramos! The Spanish side needed that penalty from their momentum but it seems to be Brazil's night. |
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54' |
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Jesús Navas brought down in the box by Marcelo and the official has to whistle for a penalty kick. |
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53' |
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There has been very little to remark from the Spanish side to this point in the second half. Passes have just been off the mark for La Roja. |
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52' |
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Substitution (in) Spain -> Jesús Navas |
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52' |
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Substitution (out) Spain -> Mata |
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51' |
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Marcelo tries to slide a pass into the box but Piqué is attentive enough to kick the cross out of bounds. Spain will start from their back line. |
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50' |
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This match has clearly not gone to Spain's expectations but what a showing from Brazil! They are making known that they will have a say in the result of their home World Cup next year. |
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47' |
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Goooal for Brazil, 3:0 by Fred
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46' |
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How will Spain react to the 2:0 deficit? The second half is underway! |
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46' |
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Beginning of second half |
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46' |
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Substitution (in) Spain -> Azpilicueta |
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46' |
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Substitution (out) Spain -> Arbeloa |
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45' |
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Halftime Summary: What a great first half for Brazil in their home stadium. The entire crowd has been expecting an excellent performance from their side and they have been greatly rewarded. After Fred opened the scoring, Neymar's dream goal pushed the lead to two. David Luiz should also be heralded as an unsung hero for his excellent defending to this point and he prevented a sure equalizer from Pedro. The Spanish side hasn't seen very many openings from Brazil and are certainly looking to make changes during the second half. More action is coming after the break and the two sides will continue to battle as they try to grab hold of the Confederations Cup victory with 45 minutes left!
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45' |
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End of first half |
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45' |
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Instead of a tied match, David Luiz and Neymar have practically insured Brazil the halftime lead with a minute left to be played in extra time. |
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44' |
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Goooal for Brazil, 2:0 by Neymar
Neymar with a beauty of a goal! He delivers a great pass to Oscar who plays it back to the brilliant player who stands directly on the line of his defenders. His shot is right over Casillas's head directly into the top netting. A beauty of a goal from the 21-year-old! |
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43' |
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Luiz has been all over the field. The defender slows the Spanish build up once more and the minutes are ticking away in this first half. |
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41' |
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David Luiz just preserved the lead from Brazil on a sure goal from Spain!! Iniesta plays the ball on beautifully and Pedro receives an equally great delivery from Mato. The winder does well to place the shot far away from Júlio César and it would have certainly seen the net bulge had Luiz not sprinted in full speed to slide the shot away before it crossed the line. |
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40' |
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The Fred score is to this point, holding for Brazil against their competition for Spain. With five minutes left it's still to be seen if this score line will remain unchanged into the break. |
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38' |
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David Luiz is fouled deep within his side's own territory and plays a pass deep to Hulk who manages to win a throw for Brazil near the Spanish box. |
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36' |
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Yet another free kick for Xavi in a favorable position. This one is also meets a wal of Brazilian players. |
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34' |
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Neymar has been marvelous in the first half. He seems to be enjoying the pressure of the evening in Rio de Janiero! |
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32' |
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What a save from Iker Casillas! Fred is played into the box from Neymar through a beautiful pass that beats the entire Spanish defense. One of the best keepers in the game earns his pay in the final. |
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31' |
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The tempo of this match has been dictated by the home side but it seems that Spain is capable of keeping up with the fast tempo. Despite being dominated the first 15 minutes, La Roja have had plenty of chances as of late. |
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28' |
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Sergio Ramos (Spain) is shown a yellow card
Yet another Spainiard sees yellow. Ramos brings down Oscar from twelve meters. A red card could have been shown if the official were being harsh. |
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27' |
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Hulk is also brought down in the box and his teammate Fred wants to have a talk with the official about the held whistle after Oscar clearly fouls Iniesta. |
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25' |
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Iniesta tries to find Torres in the box but the striker can't keep his footing against Marcelo and David Luiz. Marcelo gave a bit of a shove but Torres didn't have to dive to the turf. |
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23' |
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Not a bad attempt from Ramos. César didn't have to worry as the shot sailed right of his goal but the power of the free kick was impressive. |
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22' |
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The match has settled down at this point and both sides look more comfortable with Brazil still trying to extend their advantage and Spain trying to make things happen through beautiful, quick passing attacks in the midfield. |
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20' |
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Iniesta creates the first chance for Spain out of nothing. From about 30 meters the midfielder takes a shot that Júlio César has to save. The corner reaches Torres's head but lands on the top netting. A good chance for Spain. |
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18' |
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Yet another mistake that's very uncharacteristic of the away side. Mata had plenty of room near the penalty but plays a pass directly to his defender. |
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17' |
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Fred is rewarded a free kick after a collision with Sergio Ramos. Both players are shaken up but manage to keep playing. |
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15' |
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First corner from the Spaniards. Xavi plays a short pass to his teammates and Iniesta's mistake costs Arbeloa a yellow card as he prevents a clear scoring opportunity. Neymar would have been through and the pro-Brazilian side is furious. |
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15' |
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Arbeloa (Spain) is shown a yellow card
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13' |
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It has truly been Brazil's match through the first 13 minutes. What they are doing to the best team in international football is amazing! |
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11' |
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The Spanish side look out of the comfort zone. There have been so many mistakes from La Roja to this point. It's a sight to see how much they've been dominated to this point. |
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9' |
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Oscar should have scored from 8 meters out! An excellent show of footwork from the home side and the youngster sees his shot roll just wide of Casillas's right post. He had a great opportunity but couldn't extend the lead. |
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7' |
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Brazil has been incredibly aggressive in the opening phases of the match! The Spanish side look to have been caught off guard by how quickly the Brazilian attack began! |
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6' |
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Neymar could have done better with his cross into the box from the left flank. The pass sails harmlessly out of bounds after curling over Casillas and the Spanish defense who has nothing to worry about from the delivery. |
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4' |
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Brazil is out to make a statement in this match! They have come prepared to play against the world's best international team! |
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2' |
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Goooal for Brazil, 1:0 by Fred
What a quick lead for the Brazilians in the home stadium! Fred manages to poke a shot into the net after a pass from Hulk from right outside the penalty area. For a while both teams try to clear the ball as it bobbles around a mere three meters from Iker Casillas's net. From the ground Fred manages to swipe his right foot through the ball and Casillas barely misses saving the effort. |
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1' |
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And we're off in this Confederations Cup final! |
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1' |
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Beginning |
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Just like in the beginning of the first half, Fred has opened the scoring for the second half. The striker was all alone at the upper left corner of the penalty area after being played in by Hulk and flicked on by Neymar. Casillas gets a hand on the effort but cannot prevent the 3:0 deficit. |
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Dutchmen Björn Kuipers, and his assistants Sander van Roekel, Erwin Zeinstra will regulate this final in Rio de Janeiro. A great match should begin in just a few minutes as the national anthems are being sung. |
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In the history of football, Brazil and Spain have only faced each other eight times and it has always been a display of two different styles of play. This time it's Brazil's quick tempo and powerful attack versus Spain's composition and ball possession. It should be a great match and will be starting in just a few moments! |
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On the other hand, Spain certainly know how to win in international settings and are more than capable of dispatching of any competition when motivated. Perhaps as a preview of a late World Cup match for the coming year in the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Spain will bring just enough of their talent to overwhelm their opposition. The nucleus of Barcelona players on the Spanish side may be enough to teach their future partner Neymar and his relatively young Brazilian teammates a couple lessons about international football. |
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The Brazilians are looking to make it three Confederation Cup victories in a row while prepping themselves for the coming World Cup in 2014. Spain are already battle tested and proven as a top team. Although Luiz Felipe Scolari are certainly a prideful group, they have very little to prove against the Seleção. Perhaps that will prove to be an advantage for the home side as they try to jockey for position in the coming pre-World Cup hype. |
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Of course individual players will have some say in how the outcome is decided. Fernando Torres is the tournament's leading scorer to this point and has done well to make his offensive prowess known after his four goal effort against Tahiti. Equally impressive has been Neymar who has burst onto the football scene recently thanks to his signing with Spanish giant FC Barcelona. Although he'll be playing against future teammates tonight, the Brazilian and his Spanish counterparts will certainly have different motivations in this face-off. |
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Both teams come into the final with unblemished records. Spain seemed to struggle a bit in their semifinal match against Italy before prevailing during a penalty shoot out. Brazil was more convincing against Uruguay and has seemed a relatively strong side throughout this Confederation Cup campaign. Brazil's defense hase been astounding this far, allowing only three goals in all matches up to the final, whereas Spain has seen slight struggles against Uruguay and Italy but the team finds a way to prevail, tapping into their tradition of success to push them over any difficulties. |
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The Confederations Cup Final is finally here! A match between two great teams in Spain and Brazil is quickly approaching. In their home stadium Brazil will try to make the best of the most recent collision between international powerhouses in what should be a great conclusion to the Confederations Cup 2013. Updates throughout!
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