Group A Confederations Cup preview

The World Cup warm-up event the Confederations Cup starts this weekend with critics still questioning the tournaments existence.

Some see event as an end of season waste of time especially when you consider the majority of sides at the tournament have rescheduled important World-Cup qualifiers to be here.

Despite the complaints, the 2009 tournament was an excellent event which saw numerous shocks and some amazing matches.

Brazil came from two goals down to beat the US in the 09 final

Of the groups, the first one is the hardest to call. If you are unsure who’ll progress from the group here is a few gambling tips including a shock semi-finalists pick.

The sides

Brazil

Brazil have only won twice this calendar year, failing to overcome England on a couple of occasions, means they hardly go into the tournament in the best of form.

Despite their questionable form, the bookies never overlook Brazil and the hosts are favourites to win the Confederations Cup for a third consecutive year.

Luis Felipe Scolari has selected a young squad, excluding previous Ballon D’Or winners in the form of Ronaldinho and Kaka. The former Chelsea manager clearly has more than one eye on next year’s World Cup as he looks to bled some of those tipped to excel come 2014.

Gambling tips: Back Brazil to make the final.

Japan

Japan became the first nation to qualify for the World Cup following a 1-1 draw at home to Australia last week.

They have taken a technically sound squad with them to Brazil, which includes no less than eight players from the Bundesliga. Their key players in the form of Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda have both been selected and their hopes of getting out of a daunting group could rest on these two creative players.

If Kagawa can fire then Japan shock a few at the tournament

Japan can be found as long as 50/1 to win the tournament which is surprisingly long. I don’t they Alberto Zaccheroni’s side have a decent chance of getting out of the group, which at  odds of 8/1 has real value.

Gambling tips: If Japan can get four points from Mexico and Italy I think they’ll get out of the group. Semi-finalists.

Mexico

Mexico have not had the best of times lately and their place at the 2014 World Cup is far from assured.

The majority of the 23 selected for the tournament are home-based players and they’ve struggled to score goals of late, despite Javier Hernandez’s best efforts. Valencia’s Andres Guardado is their best player and he’ll have to be excellent to give them a chance.

I think they are the worse of the four sides in the group and I’m baffled as to why they are as short as 12/1 to win the whole thing.

Gambling tip: Don’t expect them to qualify from the group. 

Italy

Italy were embarrassed in a warm-up friendly with Haiti as the minnows came from behind to earn an amazing 2-2 draw.

While the majority of the infamous Italian old guard has gone, the class of Juventus duo Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon remain. Their lack of a real world-class striker has caused them problems for some time and it’s evident at this tournament. Although Mario Balotelli has all the ingredients to be exactly what Italy requires, their back-ups aren’t good enough.

Their game against Japan will be the big one for me and if they fail to win they may have to get something against Brazil.

Gambling tip: I feel they will narrowly be edged out of qualification and finish third. 

Copa America - An Overview Part One

The 2011 Copa America in Argentina as a tournament had everything from a side reaching the final despite not winning a game the whole tournament to a well deserved winning side. Uruguay, the South American side who went the furthest at the 201o FIFA World Cup, got better as the tournament went on and were comfortable winners in the final against Paraguay. The pre-tournament usual favourites, Brazil and the host nation Argentina, were poor, with both just winning one of their four games.

The Group Stages

Group A 
Host nation Argentina were given on paper a relatively simple progression into the knock out round; however they had to settle for second place in the group as Colombia edged them out. Argentina were poor in their opening two matches, and were fortunate to collect successive draws. Under Sergio Batista, Argentina opted for three defensive midfielders in their opening two games and only a change in their approach (which saw the inclusion of Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero) saw them progress. Defensively, despite conceding just the one goal, Argentina were poor and only a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping from Sergio Romero, especially against Colombia, ensured no first round humiliation for the hosts. With a vast amount of their players well known across Europe, Camilo Zuniga of Napoli and Radamel Falcao Garcia of Atletico Madrid, to name but two, it was no surprise to see Colombia progress, and they really should have progressed with a 100% win ratio, with a goalless draw against Argentina the only blight on their copybook. Bolivia and Costa Rica were the other two sides in Group A, and despite both recording one good result (For Bolivia a draw with Argentina, whilst Costa Rica overcame Bolivia in what was the battle to avoid being bottom), they never really threatened to progress, with the latter always going to struggle without their star player Brian Ruiz.

Group B
Brazil (arguably undeservedly) topped Group B thanks to victory in their final Group B match against Ecuador. For the most part Paraguay were the best side in the Group, and if it wasn't for late collapses against Brazil and Venezuela they would have been easy winners of Group B. After the opening round of fixtures in Group B failed to produce a goal, the all important second matches saw Brazil rescue a late point against Paraguay thanks to the former Lyon striker Fred, whilst surprise package Venezuela stunned a Antonio Valencia less Ecuador. The game of the group stages saw Venezuela book their last eight spot thanks to an incredible comeback against Paraguay. 3-1 down with just two minutes to go, late strikes from Miku and Grenddy Perozo rescued a point for the Group underdogs. Despite throwing four points away Paraguay were through (ironically thanks to Argentina's victory over Costa Rica, as two of the groups needed three qualifiers and Paraguay had a better goal difference then Group A's third place side). Going into the last game Brazil themselves needed a result against Ecuador, and thanks to two goals apiece from Neymar and Alexandre Pato they eased past their opponents 4-2, in their most convincing performance of the tournament.

Group C
Uruguay like many of the other pre-tournament favourites started in slow fashion; however they like Chile and Peru qualified in comfortable fashion. A Mexico side (made up of predominately under 23 year old's because of their decision to take their strongest squad to the Gold Cup rather then the Copa America) battled well but ended up pointless and bottom. Chile, despite being under different leadership to Marcelo Biesla, continued to play three at the back, and their style of play was brilliant to watch, with Alexis Sanchez's fantastic team goal in their draw with Uruguay the highlight. Uruguay and their embarrassment of attacking riches (Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez, Edison Cavani and Alvaro Pereira) required at least a draw with Mexico in their last Group game to ensure progression and thanks to Pereira's early strike, they eased through in second place, edging out Peru who lost to Chile, but still did enough to qualify.

Part two to follow soon.

Despite poor starts all the big nations qualify

After much needed victories Brazil and Argentina confirmed their progression into the knock out stages of the Copa America. Uruguay also secured their place in the last eight with victory over Mexico, who were the only team from Group C who failed to progress.

In group A, Colombia secured top spot after easily overcoming a poor Bolivia side 2-0 with both goals coming from the much saught after striker Falcao. Playing a day later meant Argentina knew the highest they could finish was 2nd, which meant overcoming a second string Costa Rica side. And after making wholesale changes they were far too strong for the youthful Costa Rican's winning easily 3-0. Two goals for Sergio Aguero and one for Angel Di Maria only slightly resembled their dominance in what was a much better performance. Gonzalo Higuain, Lionel Messi along with the two goalscorers all spearheaded a frightening strike force, with Messi claiming two assists, the second a beautiful pass for Di Maria who smashed home.

For the second time in as many games Paraguay failed to hold a lead with the game heading into injury time, however this time they threw away a 3-1 lead with Venezuela rescuing the unlikeliest of points with Miku and Perozo snatching a draw which ensured Venezuela finished second. Brazil, like Argentina, drew their opening two games, and again they followed the Argentina method after winning their final group game to secure progression. Two goals apiece from Neymar and Pato ensured Julio Cesar's error to allow Manchester City's Felipe Caceido to draw the sides level at 1-1 was irrelevant. The win ensured Brazil finished top of Group B, meaning they play Paraguay in the quarter finals, ironically who finished third in their group.

In the final group the trio of Chile, Uruguay and Peru all qualified. Chile overcame Peru thanks to a last minute own goal, ensuring the Chilians topped group C and a quarter final match with Venezuela. Uruguay went into their final game knowing defeat would've ended their Copa America campaign, however despite spurning many chances they beat a youthful Mexico 1-0, with Diego Forlan coming in for some criticism after missing countless chances for the World Cup semi-finalists.

Quarter final draw (predictions in brackets)

Colombia vs Peru (2-0)

Uruguay vs Argentina (1-2)

Brazil vs Paraguay (2-1)

Chile vs Venezuela (3-1)

Round 3 predictions (actual score in brackets)- Argentina 3 Costa Rica 1 (3-0), Colombia 2 Bolivia 0 (2-0), Brazil 1 Ecuador 0 (4-2), Paraguay 1 Venezeula 0 (3-3), Chile 2 Peru 1 (1-0), Uruguay 2 Mexico 0 (1-0)

Copa America round up

After the second set of group matches were played, favourites Argentina and Brazil find themselves in awful shape, with both third in their group after back-to-back draws.

In Group A a Costa Rican under 23 side overcame Bolivia who finished the game with nine men. The result saw Costa Rica move above Argentina in the group, ensuring a draw for them against the mighty Argentina would ensure qualification.

Argentina were fortunate to escape with a draw against Colombia, with the Colombians threatening to score the vital break through goal on numerous occasions in a dominated first half performance. In fact Colombia should have easily won the game, with Dayro Moreno missing an open goal, much to the players disbelief. Sergio Batista is expected to make wholesale changes for their final Group A game with Costa Rica on Monday.

In group B, Venezula overcame a poor Ecuador to take a suprise lead at the top of Group B. The win means Venezula can probably afford to lose their last game and still qualify, with two of the three third placed sides qualifying. In the same group Brazil needed a last minute leveller from Fred to rescue a point with Paraguay. Shakthar Donestk's Jadson opened the scoring late in the first half, only for Roque Santa Cruz and Nelson Valdez to turn the game on its head. And with Paraguay looking like stealing a march on their South American rivals in the group with victory, Fred came off the bench to level the scores and seal a vital point for Brazil.


Chile and Peru are level on four points at the top of group C, with the later securing a late victory against a young Mexico side. Pablo Guerrero's 81st minute winner saw Peru add to their opening point with Uruguay and leave themselves in good stead after two games. In arguably the game of the tournament so far Uruguay drew 1-1 with Chile as Alexis Sanchez rounded of a lovely team move to rescue a point. Alvaro Perriera had given the World Cup semi-finalists a deserved lead after poor defending from the Chilians. Diego Forlan and Co will probably have to beat Mexico to ensure a place in the quarter-finals after two draws from two.

My round 3 predicitions
Argentina 3 Costa Rica 1
Colombia 2 Bolivia 0
Brazil 1 Ecuador 0
Paraguay 1 Venezula 0
Chile 2 Peru 1
Uruguay 2 Mexico 0

My round 2 predicitions- Argentina 2 Colombia 1 (0-0), Bolivia 1 Costa Rica 0 (0-2) Brazil 1 Paraguay 1 (2-2) Ecuador 2 Venezula 0 (0-1) Chile 1 Uruguay 1 (1-1) Peru 1-0 Mexico (1-0)

Argentina and Brazil make uninspiring start to the Copa America

With all 12 Copa America teams up and running its fair to say the start to the tournament is very tepid. Disappointing opening draws for Argentina, Brazil and suprise World Cup semi-finalisits Uruguay meant the tournament has failed to ingite so far, with four draws in the opening six games.

The hosts Argentina kicked off the 2011 tournament, and despite Sergio Batista's claim to play the Barcelona way, they failed to overcome Bolivia. With three defensive minded centre midfielders in Ever Banega, Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Mascherano, Argentina failed to break Bolivia down, with only two first half chances of note falling to Carlos Tevez and Ezequiel Lavezzi. The aformentioned duo infact had a poor game of the blue and white of Argentina, with both now favourites to be left out of their second match with group leaders Colombia. And despite sub Sergio Aguero's second half leveller the hosts kicked off in poor fashion.

Argentina's group A rivals Colombia overcame 10 men Costa Rica 1-0. An early red card for Costa Rica's Randall Brenes saw Colombian manager Francisco Maturana bring on another centre forward in Huge Rodallega and their extra attacking impetious paid divedend when Adrian Ramos broke from midfield to score the games winner.

If Argentina were bad in their opener then Brazil were poor as they stumbled to a goalless draw with group minnows Venezuela. When you think of Brazil you think of their samba attacking football, but currently their teams greatest strength is their defensive quality, and with the likes of Maicon and David Luiz on the bench, their strength in depth is very evident. However going forward they've only scored three goals in their previous six matches, and never looked like breaking down a young and resolute Venezuela side. Lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation that can alter to a 4-3-3, their forwards mirror those of Barcelona in height, however differ in quality. The three forwards Robinho and Pato played their best football for AC Milan last year when Zlatan Imbrahimovic was in the side, and without the threat of a real target man in their side it was all too easy for Venezula to keep Brazil at bay. The other group B game saw Paraguay draw 0-0 with Ecuador meaning all four teams have one point.

Bayern Leverkusen's Arturo Vidal scored the winner as Chile came from behind to beat a far from full strength Mexico team, who on the back of their recent Gold Cup success decided to take a second string squad to Argentina. The other two sides in Group C in Uruguay and Peru drew 1-1 as Liverpool's Luis Suarez rescued a point from the World Cup semi-finalists.

Round two predictions
Argentina 2 Colombia 1
Bolivia 1 Costa Rica 0
Brazil 1 Paraguay 1
Ecuador 2 Venezula 0
Uruguay 1 Chile 1
Peru 1 Mexico 0