Wednesday, June 24, 2009

USA Shock SPAIN 2-0


The United States shock the football world today after recording a 2-0 win. I had predicted a 2-0 victory to Spain but my new country proved me wrong again. We saw them play exactly how a team should play a team that has superior quality than yours. They stayed close to their marker and when they went forward they made the most of their chances and when Spain went forward the anticipation and concentration was there to clear the danger. Tim Howard proved hard to beat as I had predicted, stopping shot after shot and frustrating the Spaniards. Jozy Altidore opened the scoring for the Americans in the first half and Clint Dempsey finished a very oppurtunistic goal midway the second half to seal the deal for America. Spain see there unbeaten streak of 35 games without loss come to a surprising end and also their 15 game record breaking winning spreak ending as well. It was a game that saw the Spanish looking way out of sync and one can't help to accuse them of underestimating the US. The Spanish also showed a lack of killer instinct in the final third of the field giving up the ball cheaply and firing wide. USA will play in the finals on Sunday in Johannesburg against the winner of Brazil vs South Africa tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Preview: SPAIN vs. USA

Without a doubt the US got to the semi-finals in somewhat remarkable fashion recording a stunning victory over the African champions, Egypt, 3-0. If the USA have the same sort of luck we can then say that would be the biggest upset in the history of the Confederations Cup. Spain will be keen to go forward and stamp their authority early on but could have trouble getting past the very agile Tim Howard in goal. Spain boast the top two leading goal scorers in the tournament in David Villa(3) and Fernando Torres(3) both strikers should be looking to add to their tally. Spain have been relative underachievers but this looks like a new era in the Spanish Football history as this team is not only a strong candidate to win this tournament but also the World Cup next year. In my opinion, I think it will be a free flowing game with Spain winning by 2-0 and advancing to the finals. The game is posted to being at 2:30pm ET on ESPN, don't miss it.

Monday, June 22, 2009

The Confederation's Cup is heating up

After the first twelve matches, we can declare that the most tested and proven team must be the Brazilians, they have shown the ability to play well under adversity, they have proven they can beat teams of equal or slightly lesser calibre in quite convincing fashion. The Spaniards have done well so far but even though one might not think they were tested enough they will be fancied to pull through to the final and pose a great threat against what obviously will be Brazil. So far the biggest upset by far is how the Americans managed to qualify against all odds to stay alive for at least one more game in the competition. They will face a tough game against Spain and one can't help but wonder if the competition has any more surprises. South Africa, as host nation, have shown that their team has heart and fight. They have played well in each match and were able to hold out the Spaniards for a long period before conceding. The Italian fans have to be disappointed in their teams showing, it lacked that killer instinct of previous teams. I predict that the finals will be contest by Spain and Brazil and Brazil will come out on top.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Who will win the Confederations Cup?

The beginning of the FIFA Confederations Cup will be on June 15th in South Africa; showcasing teams representing each corner of the globe. The participants include host nation South Africa, European champions Spain, Iraq, Reigning world champs Italy, Five time world champs Brazil, New Zealand, United States of America and Egypt. The tournament will last appoximately two weeks running from June 15 - June 28. The opener will be against the two african teams host nation South Africa versus Egypt. There are no clear cut favourites for the trophy it seems like a toss-up. But if one were to bet they wouldn't bet against Brazil. The Spaniards will prove tough to beat but even though group A look deceptively benign we all know how well Iraq can play and they had a sensational team that did well in the olympics, however, same can't be said for new Zealand as they should prove a stroll in the park for the Spaniards while hosts South Africa with the home crowd in their favour should be a tough outfit to beat. Over in group B which is quite easily can be dubbed the group of death we see Italy, Brazil, USA and Egypt. Brazil who are five time world champs will be eager to prove that they have what it takes to be a competitor next year in the World Cup, Italy will be keen as well to show that they can once again compete and with the arrival of Marcello Lippi he will be sure to select the correct team despite the calf strain that skipper Cannavaro is now recovering from. USA will look to prove their worth against the top guns of world Football but face a uphill task. Egypt could prove a wild card as they have a very solid team as they proved in last year's cup of nations.

My bet is all in for Brazil to win the trophy ahead of next year's world cup.