Heavyweight trio hunt for Confed Cup

JOHANNESBURG – Brazil, Italy and Spain headline the FIFA 2009 Confederations Cup with some of the biggest names in the game looking to claim bragging rights ahead of next year’s World Cup.

The tournament of continental champions, the traditional dress rehearsal for the World Cup, gets underway next Sunday when hosts South Africa take on Asian Cup winners Iraq.
New Zealand, Egypt and the United States are also playing in the June 14-28 spectacle but it is the presence of the big three that has whetted appetites.
The trio are bringing mostly full-strength squads to South Africa, and that means the likes of Kaka, Robinho, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Fabio Cannavaro and Daniele De Rossi strutting their stuff.
Organisers are hoping for full houses and remain confident that preparations in the four host cities – Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg and Bloemfontein – will live up to expectations.
As well as being a football carnival, the tournament will be a crucial test of South Africa’s readiness for next year, with how infrastructure and security works being closely watched.
Brazil go into the tournament as defending champions, having beaten Argentina 4-1 in the final four years ago in Germany, and coach Dunga has high expectations of his glamorous stars.
The South American giant’s are drawn in Group B alongside world champions Italy and the United States with their first taste of action on Monday in Bloemfontein against Egypt. Italy play the USA on the same day in Pretoria.
The top two from each of the two groups will qualify for the semi-finals, ahead of the final on June 28.
Italy play Brazil in the tournament glamour clash on June 21 and coach Marcello Lippi heads to South Africa with a tried and tested team, spearheaded by Andrea Pirlo, De Rossi, and Cannavaro. But he is not looking beyond their opening game.
Spain, drawn alongside Iraq, New Zealand and South Africa, come into the tournament with virtually the same team that won the European championships last year, and with high expectations. – Nampa-AFP