Spain’s level of dominance should have resulted in a much more emphatic victory.
Xabi Alonso is unavailable for the Confederations Cup because of injury, and in his absence Vicente del Bosque changed the structure of his side, using Sergio Busquets as the sole holder, moving Xavi Hernandez into the role he plays at Barcelona, and...
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Tags: alba, del bosque, fabregas, soldado, spaind, tabarez, uruguay
Posted in Confederations Cup 2013 | 5 Comments »
Italy dominated for the majority of the match, and Mario Balotelli was a fitting matchwinner.
Cesare Prandelli selected a 4-3-2-1 system, using Juventus duo Claudio Marchisio and Emanuele Giaccherini behind lone striker Balotelli.
Mexico coach Jose Manuel de la Torre used a standard 4-2-3-1 system, playing Giovani dos Santos behind Javier Hernandez.
Mexico had some bright moments,...
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Tags: 4-3-2-1, 4-3-2-1 v 4-2-3-1, balotelli, cerci, de la torre, de sciglio, giaccherini, Italy, marchisio, mexico, montolivo, pirlo, prandelli
Posted in Confederations Cup 2013 | 10 Comments »
Brazil scored at the start of the first half, at the start of the second half, and in the final minute.
Luiz Felipe Scolari named his expected side, unchanged from the XI that defeated France 3-0 last week.
Alberto Zaccheroni left out Ryoichi Maeda, using Shinji Okazaki as the lone striker, with Hiroshi Kiyotake playing on the right...
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Tags: alves, brazil, Confederations Cup 2013, fred, gustavo, hulk, japan, kagawa, marcelo, neymar, oscar, paulinho, scolari, zaccheroni
Posted in Confederations Cup 2013 | 227 Comments »
Spain recorded a narrow victory, and go one point clear of France at the top of Group I.
Didier Deschamps used Patrice Evra rather than Gael Clichy at left-back, and the late withdrawal of Mamadou Sakho saw Laurent Koscielny start at centre-back. But the key change was higher up – from the side that defeated...
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Tags: arbeloa, del bosque, deschamps, france, full-backs, iniesta, jallet, monreal, pedro, ribery, spain, valbuena
Posted in Internationals | 41 Comments »
Venezuela recorded an important victory to strengthen their chances of qualifying for their first-ever World Cup.
Cesar Farias made two changes from the side which lost 3-0 to Argentina. Cesar Gonzalez replaced Luis Seijas on the right, while Fernando Aristeguieta played upfront rather than Frank Feltscher.
Mario Yepes was out, so Luis Perea came in at...
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Tags: 4-2-2-2, 4-2-2-2 v 4-2-3-1, arango, cichero, colombia, falcao, farias, james, miku, pekerman, rondon, venezuela
Posted in Internationals | 5 Comments »