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2013 Confederations Cup – Italy Survive Japan Thanks to Sebastian Giovinco
Starting with a very defensive lineup, it took Italy nearly an entire half and falling behind 2-0 in order to get a grip of the kind of opponents they were facing in Japan, but eventually, thanks to a lot more efficiency inside the box and one substitution, putting in Sebastian Giovinco, also scoring the winning goal, the Italians won 4-3 in the best match of the tournament so far, clinching a spot in the semifinal.
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Neymar With a Magic Goal & Assist Hides a Boring Match (Brazil vs Mexico)
Once again, Brazil were far from impressive in both their defending and composure on attack, but their big star, Neymar, showed once again the kind of quality he has, with another fantastic volley goal in the 9th minute and a magical assist in the final minute, giving Jo another garbage time goal to sink Mexico out of the Confederations Cup.
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2013 Confederations Cup – Italy vs Japan Predictions
Meeting for only the second time in history, the 2013 Confederations Cup match between Italy and Japan is obviously in favor of the European side, who are looking to secure their place in the semifinals by beating the Blue Samurai for a second time.
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2013 Confederations Cup – Brazil vs Mexico Predictions
And still, 14 players who featured on both sides in the London Olympics last year, a gold-medal match won by Mexico 2-1, will be available to play in Frotaleza. Mexico also won the previous encounter between the senior sides (2-0) a year ago in Texas.
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Worst Teams in Confederations Cup History
Tahiti, with only one professional player in their squad for the 2013 Confederations Cup, are most likely to become the fourth nation in tournament history to finish the group stage with 0 points, following New Zealand, Australia and Mexico.
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2013 Confederations Cup – Tahiti vs Nigeria Predictions
There’s only one professional player on the Tahiti squad, while Nigeria offer the slight chance of an upset because of their late arrival to the tournament (bonus arguments with the FA), and a head coach that’s been acting a little bit weirdly lately.
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2013 Confederations Cup – Spain Embarrass Themselves With Their Diving
Spain have followed the familiar course since winning the Euro in 2008, and haven’t really been helping themselves by slightly playing the part of the villain and diving at every possible opportunity in their win over Uruguay.
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Andrea Pirlo vs Luis Suarez – What’s the Better Free Kick Goal?
Two matches on day of the Confederations Cup ended in the same 2-1 result. Italy beat Mexico, with Andrea Pirlo opening the scoring with a beautiful free kick to the top corner, while Uruguay lost to Spain, getting a late consolation goal thanks to Luis Suarez with a very similar strike.
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2013 Confederations Cup – Luis Suarez Free Kick Goal Is Too Late (Spain vs Uruguay)
Luis Suarez scored a beautiful free kick, but it was only enough for Uruguay consolation goal, while Pedro and Roberto Soldado made sure in the first 30 minutes that Spain came away with their opening match win, a 2-1 victory to give them the expected start in the Confederations Cup.
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2013 Confederations Cup – Mario Balotelli Needed to Get Angry (Mexico vs Italy)
Mario Balotelli finished the job Andre Pirlo started, as Italy got a deserved 2-1 win in their opening confederations cup match over Mexico, who didn’t have much to showcase except for some creative plays from Giovanni Dos Santos and Andres Guardado.