Brazil, Spain to face off at FIFA Confederation Cup

Teams Spain and Italy, European soccer powerhouses, started penalty shootout that is likened to “Russian Roulette,” as they tied 0-1 despite their ruthless 120-minute competition at a semifinal of the FIFA Confederation Cup in Fortaleza, Brazil on Friday. With the shootout score tied at 6-6, Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), the seventh kicker of the Italian team, shot the ball up into the sky to miss the goal, but Jesus Navas (Manchester City) of Spain, shot in composure and scored. Spain beat the game by making another scapegoat Bonucchi."

With Spain winning the match, the prides of Latin American and European soccer are set to face off for the first time in 14 years. Spain will play Brazil, the host of the championship that advanced to the final after beating Uruguay 2-1 at Maracanã soccer stadium, the holy site of Brazilian soccer, at 7 a.m., Monday (Korea time). This match is set to effectively become an advance showcase of the final match of the 2014 Brazil World Cup. Brazil and Spain are strong candidates of next year’s World Cup champion. Brazil, which enjoys the advantage of being host to the World Cup, has won the World Cup title as many as five times, the most for a team. The team also has the favorable jinx of a Latin American team always winning the title at World Cup events held in Latin American.

Spain, standing top in the FIFA ranking, is the world’s strongest team, which won the 2008 UEFA European Soccer Championship, and the 2012 World Cup in South Africa, and the UEFA European championship 2012. The team is so strong that it scored 15 goals in the four games it played, and only allowed one goal in the ongoing Confederation Cup event. Notably, the team has had a 29-game winning streak in A matches of late.

Experts predict Brazil will prevail. In the comparative records in past showdowns between the two teams, Brazil is leading a bit with four wins, two draws, and two losses. The rival teams drew 0-0 in a friendly match in 1999, their latest showdown. “Spain is physically more challenged because it is set to rest one day less than Brazil, and had penalty shootout,” SBS soccer commentator Park Moon-seong said. “Enthusiastic cheering mood among the fans in their home turf will be predominantly in Brazil’s favor as well.”