2009 Confederations Cup

It will be a quiet summer with no Euro or World Cup. The only rather meager replacement will be the 2009 Confederations Cup to be held in South Africa as the prelude to next years' World Cup. It is the time for th South Africans to show that they are really up for this, although the World Cup is at a completely different level.
Nevertheless there are some interesting matches in this tournament that has consistently improved since its start as King Fahd Cup in 1992. Most participant countries, notably Spain, are going to South Africa with their strongest team, but also Brazil, Italy, USA and Egypt are showing up with strong teams. Add to this the South African hosts who will want to give their team a good preparation for the World Cup, as well as New Zealand and the 2007 Asian champions, Iraq.
The groups are as follows:

Group A:

• South Africa
• Iraq
• New Zealand
• Spain

Group B:

• Brazil
• Egypt
• USA
• Italy

Although not to be very exciting, it will surely be interesting to see some of the teams play.