The 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup began yesterday in Brazil. Group Stage: 15 June 2013 Group A Brazil 3-0 Japan (Neymar, Paulinho, Jo) 16 June 2013 Group A Mexico 1-2 Italy (Hernandez pen; Pirlo, Balotelli) Group B Spain 2-1 Uruguay (Lugano og, Soldado; Suarez) 17 June 2013 Group B Tahiti 1-6 Nigeria (J.Tehau; Vallar og, Oduamadi x3, J.Tehau og, Echiejile) 19 June 2013 Group A Brazil 2-0 Mexico (Neymar, Jo) Group B Italy 4-3 Japan (De Rossi, Uchida og, Balotelli pen, Giovinco; Honda pen, Kagawa, Okazaki) 20 June 2013 Group B Spain 10-0 Tahiti (Torres x4, Silva x2, Villa x3, Mata) Nigeria 1-2 Uruguay (Mikel; Lugano, Forlan) 22 June 2013 Group A Italy 2-4 Brazil (Giaccherini, Chiellini; Dante, Neymar, Fred x2) Japan 1-2 Mexico (Okazaki; Hernandez x2) 23 June 2013 Group B Nigeria 0-3 Spain (Alba x2, Torres) Uruguay 8-0 Tahiti (Hernandez x4, Perez, Lodeiro, Suarez x2) Tables Group A: 1. Brazil - 9pts 2. Italy - 6pts 3. Mexico - 3pts 4. Japan - 0pts Group B: 1. Spain - 9pts 2. Uruguay - 6pts 3. Nigeria - 3pts 4. Tahiti - 0pts Knockout Stages: 26 June 2013 Semi Final 1 Brazil 2-1 Uruguay (Fred, Paulinho; Cavani) 27 June 2013 Semi Final 2 Spain 0-0 Italy (Spain win 7-6 on penalties) 30 June 2013 Third Place Playoff Uruguay 2-2 Italy (Cavani x2; Astori, Diamanti) (Italy win 3-2 on penalties) Final Brazil 3-0 Spain (Fred x2, Neymar) Top Scorers: 1. Torres (Spain) - 5 2. Fred (Brazil) - 5 3. Neymar (Brazil) - 4 4. Hernandez (Uruguay) - 4 5. Villa (Spain) - 3
Probably a mix between money and to test the stadia and infrastructure before next summer. I'm with Erik, I want Tahiti to win. My backup might have to be Italy though...
He's nowhere near the top 10. There are loads of players I could name who I think are better than him.
Did you watch the game last night? Not saying you should change your opinion on the basis of one game but he was an absolute class above everyone else on the pitch, and there were some decent players on show. I personally think he is in the top 10, at least of attacking players, I find it's silly to compare Neymar or Messi to someone like Kompany, Hummels or Vidic.
It was the first decent performance I've seen him put in. And i've seen him play for a couple of years (not every game, obviously). A season at Barca should show us what he's really like.
He's played mediocre everytime i've seen him play. He dicks on defenders in Brazil but so could Wilbraham. A decent game against Japan doesn't change anything yet.
Really? I've seen him be quiet in games and a little greedy but rarely would I say his performances were not 'decent', although he's never really stood out in games against England or games against European sides (of which he hasn't played many) so I can see why people wouldn't think he was a world beater. Probably have to ask yourself; do you think Barca would pay £50 million if he wasn't pretty special? Personally, I expect people to be putting him in the same bracket as Messi, Ronaldo and Bale within the next couple of years. It's easy to forget he's barely 21, Ronaldo didn't become a 'great' player until the 06/07 season when he was 23/24 at Man Utd. The pressure on Neymar is ridiculous for a 21 year-old yet he still seems to cope, similar to the pressure England fans put on Rooney in 2006 when he was only 20 but probably even more extreme with Brasil hosting in 2014 and the rest of their team not being as good as it has been in previous years.
Yeah but the point there is 'in a couple of years' - we're arguing against him being anywhere near the best now, which a lot of people say he is.
You've just answered my point. He isn't the best YET. He isn't in the top 10 best attackers YET. A season at Barca may change that. At the moment, to me, he looks a good player, but doesn't seem to perform as well as he should.
