Three matches, minus 23 goal difference. I know what you're saying, and it was nice to see them try moving it forward. However, I think the only European nation that *might* have done worse than Tahiti in this tournament would be San Marino. And I'm not even sure of that. Seven European nations ranked below them, somehow. I guess being able to hammer Cook Islands etc does more for ranking points.
Not a terribly high level down there to be honest. I agree with the idea of the confederations cup, but Sky listed Tahitis previous five matches during their encounter with Spain, and I think it was one win and four defeats, so it's a bit difficult to see what they actually did to get there. Mind you, their matches are more interesting than Andorra's dreadfull running the clock down for ninety minutes match after match. Viva Tahiti.
Here are some results from the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. All teams with asterisks are ranked below Tahiti. Italy 2-0 Malta* Armenia 0-1 Malta* Liechtenstein* 1-1 Slovakia Kazakhstan* 0-0 Austria Faroe Islands* 1-2 Sweden Luxembourg* 1-2 Portugal Netherlands 3-0 Andorra* No way would any of these make a worse attempt of it than Tahiti. By all means they deserved to qualify by virtue of how the qualification was set up, and New Zealand getting beat by New Caledonia. Sure, they tried to play a bit, but the reality was they were dreadful and would be lucky to pick up a single point in a European group. It was a bit like seeing Ireland in the European Championships, but even worse
Some of the press are calling that Brazil performance 'a masterclass' - looked like a good old-fashioned stuffing to me... Neymar's stepover for the third goal, Cesar's save from Villa and Luiz' last ditch clearance were just sheer class. Good to see Brazil back to top form. Something's definitely missing from the World game when they're misfiring.
Brazil played well, but this was a competition that was meaningless to everyone except the South American teams. A completion with Tahiti in the last eight cannot be taken seriously. The Spanish players have just come off a long season in a hard league, and nearly all them were involved up to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Every one of those matches was more important to them than this Mickey Mouse final. Add the sweltering heat and the cow pasture of the pitch and it is not surprising they could not motivate themselves after Brazil scrambled an early goal. I am guessing that had this match been important to Spain the Brazilians would not have got many touches of the ball. Brazil have won lots of Confederation Cups. Not surprising, as the whole competition was partly created for their benefit. But they usually fold under pressure when it comes to the serious stuff. Having home advantage and Phil Scolari in charge (unless he leaves in one of the usual Brazilian scandals) gives them a real chance next year, but I still think they will fall to any one of Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain or Argentina.
Didn't wish to offend, Tewks. You will always be our top expert on soccer in the Welsh Borders and South-West Midlands! I wouldn't normally reference articles on the BBC Sport site but these two more or less coincide with my views: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23125937 (on Spain - see how many games Iniesta has played this season: 57) http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23123509 (on Brazil) I see a lot of Brazilian football on TV here in the Dominican Republic. A lot of the matches are dreary and a lot of top tier players no more skilled than in our Championship, with a much bigger gap between the best and worst players in teams than would be accepted here. Football in Brazil is in big trouble. Financial corruption, bent referees, political interference, drugs, derelict and dangerous stadiums, crowd violence, etc. etc. The average attendance in the top tier is around 12,500. The famous Santos often play league matches in front of less than 5000. The fanaticism of Brazilians for football is exaggerated and can be very negative. Booing your own players and leaving before the end do go on in the UK, but are sufficiently uncommon that they get commented on. In Brazil it is the norm. If the home team is two or three down in the final thirty minutes half the crowd will leave, and most stadiums look thinly populated anyway. Brazil's home support in the World Cup could carry them to victory, but could be a curse if the crowd turns against the team. My guess is the pressure will be too much and their players will crack, perhaps receiving damaging red cards, because they are not used to the strictness of international-standard refereeing. Local referees are often afraid to book players. As for your enjoying the game, I prefer to enjoy games where both teams are playing their hearts out. The Spanish players clearly did not want to be there. I think none of them broke into a trot until Navas came on. It was like watching a team of Johnnie Jacksons. We enjoy any football at present because there is so little to watch, so we lower our standards. That is how FIFA are able to make money out of this silly competition. That, plus the chance to try out World Cup arrangements and João Havelange's desire to give Brazil a chance to win something once they stopped winning World Cups, is the reason for its existence.
Interesting comment. All of those factors will come into play ahead of the next World Cup, unless Barcelona continue their decline... So too will Brazil's home advantage. Anyway, the World Club champions aren't in Europe. I'm not ruling Spain out altogether, but the conditions could have a big impact on how the tournament pans out. European teams could struggle if they have to play many matches in, say Fortaleza, Recife, or Salvador. Sure, Germany have all the required talents to take this tournament, but then I thought the same last year. Seriously?
Obviously I mean the current generation. Quarter-finals in the last two World Cups and the last Copa América, all of which they were fancied to win. Historically, of course they are the supreme soccer nation, but only two of their World Cup wins have come in the last 40 years.
You say two from the last 40 years, I say two from the last 20 years... If you went back to 1986, you still wouldn't find another nation with more than 1 World Cup win. And only Germany have made the semi finals in both of the last two World Cups. None of the other three semi-finalists in 2010 even made the quarter final in 2006 (one of them didn't qualify). Similar story if you look at the transition from 2002 to 2006 or from 1998 to 2002, or even 1994 to 1998. International football changes all the time. I don't think Brazil's record in the 2006 World Cup counts for much more than the 2007 Copa America win that you glossed over. In my experience of sports where you can't buy in talent, having the heritage is half the battle. Brazil have that. Nobody's saying it's the second coming of the 1970 team, but they looked decent in patches in this tournament, they have home advantage and knowledge of the conditions. I think it's very strange to rule them out after a 3-0 win over the World champions.
