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David Villa: 13-Goal Hero

Spain are Already in the Semi-Finals!

There has only been three full match days in the Confederations Cup so far but already, Spain are looking forward to the semi-final after securing their place at the top of Group A.

This means that they will play the runners-up of Group when the semi-finals eventually roll around which allows the Spanish to prepare for the game and also gives the teams in Group B a huge incentive to try and finish in the top spot. Finishing in the qualification places is usually enough for teams to consider but given that runners up spot guarantees a game against the form team at the moment, this may not be advisable.

Mind you, if anyone apart from Spain wants to life the Confederations Cup, its likely they will have to beat the European Champion ship holders at some point, so it may not be something that some nation will fancy trying in the final four.

However, it does mean that the final game between Italy and Brazil is not going to be completely without merit with both sides knowing that a defeat will likely see them facing the Spanish side. Italy and Brazil won’t really need any extra encouragement to win their final group game but in case they did, they have it now in spades.

New Zealand Poor
As well as having one team through to the semi-finals, match day three also saw one team being eliminated from the tournament, leaving them with a final group game with very little to play for. New Zealand were atrocious against the Spanish in their opening match and were only slightly better in their second match against South Africa. A 2-0 defeat, on top of their 5-0 drubbing, sees them marooned at the bottom and unable to progress to the knock-out stages of the tournament.

New Zealand can still have a part to play in who gets through to the semi final as runner up of Group A but in reality, their involvement will relate to how many goals Iraq can ship by them. If Spain stick to the form book and defeat host nation South Africa, Iraq will know that a handsome win over New Zealand will be enough to edge them into second place and ending the tournament involvement of the host nation. Anyone who has had to listen to the non-stop crowd noises of the home fans, akin to killer bees, may not see the end of home team involvement as too much of a bad thing but there is definitely an increased atmosphere and tempo when South Africa are involved.

Who will Villa be Scoring for Next Season?
Iraq may not have won too many fans with their ultra defensive performance against Spain but they limited them to one goal and if it wasn’t for a loss of concentration by an Iraqi defender for a moment, they may have managed to shut the European Champions out for the whole match.

The winning goal was nodded home by David Silva, in what proved to be his thirteenth goal in thirteen games for Spain, a massively impressive record, especially at the highest level of international football. It is this sort of form that informs you why Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United all appear to be sniffing out the Valencia marksman. Okay, he won’t be a Valencia player for too much longer but if he notches many more goals during this tournament, his price may soar even further and even Real Madrid may find they don’t have enough money to buy him.

Then again, if that situation did arise, the Madrid Government would come running to the rescue as always and make sure the club had enough pocket money to buy their latest plaything. For those who love the concept of fantasy football coming to life, the signings of Real Madrid are sure to bring a mouth watering prospect to next seasons La Liga but there will be just as many who hope that Barcelona or some other Spanish rival crushes Madrid’s moneybag challenge into the ground, before it really begins. However, returning to Iraq, they have given themselves an excellent chance of making it to the final four and all of this is due to one man, Bora Milutinovic.

All Hail Bora!
Not many men have managed four different countries at a World Cup and all the tactical expertise gained from these events has been shown in the Confederations Cup. Holding the host nation to a goal-less draw and then keeping the reigns on Spain has enabled Iraq to look forward to their match against New Zealand with a very serious chance of progressing. New Zealand have looked abysmal throughout the tournament and Iraq will be confident of scoring a couple of goals, which should see them nudge ahead of South Africa on goal difference.

The host nation could guarantee their progress by taking something against Spain but that is obviously a task that is easier said than done and the Iraqi’s will definitely be thinking they are in with a strong chance of meeting the winners of Group A.

Shock in Group B?
Although the popular conception is that Italy will overcome Egypt and Brazil will sneak past the USA in their second group game, there is a huge incentive for both of the lesser teams to upset the odds and give the favourites a bloody nose. As Italy and Brazil face off in the last match, there are going to be points dropped somewhere so if a smaller nation can hang on in there by causing an upset in the second round matches of Group B, there could be an almighty upset in store.

Of course, it is likely that the two big names will get the job done, very much like they did in the opening fixtures of the tournaments but in football, you just never know. Italy may be world champions and Brazil may have Kaka, now only the second most expensive footballer in the world but if the hunger and desire isn’t there, they may just be shocked. Both of the big teams looked a little lackadaisical in their opening match and whilst both deserved their win, it wasn’t as straightforward as either would have expected or certainly hoped for.

So far, the Confederations Cup has been a huge success with some great football and goals and with the knock-out stages looming, it is only going to become more interesting.

by Andrew Reilly

for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk

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