The Confederations Cup kicked off yesterday evening, with Brazil and Italy showing their class early on. Brazil beat Japan 3-0 at the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia, while Italy beat Mexico 2-1 in Andrea Pirlo’s 100th match. Neymar began the tournament in sensational fashion with the opening goal – a sensational half volley, after good build-up work by Marcelo and Fred. The Brazilians started the second half in much the same way, with an early goal from Paulinho off a cross by Dani Alves. In the final few seconds they made it three, when Jo finished off a through ball from Oscar. Meanwhile, Mario Balotelli and Pirlo starred for Italy in their win over Mexico at the Maracana. Balotelli showed his confidence early on, watching a daring effort go over the bar, and it was he who was fouled to set up the free-kick for Pirlo to score. The 34-year-old grabbed the chance and curled a beautiful set-piece into the top left hand corner to give Italy the lead. Javier Hernandez equalised from the penalty spot, after Andrea Barzagli fouled Giovani dos Santos, sending Gianluigi Buffon the wrong way. Balotelli then showed his strength and breezed past the Mexican defence to score the winner 10 minutes from time. A Seleção play Mexico on Wednesday, and Italy face Japan on Thursday, while Tahiti take on Nigeria today at 9pm (SA time).
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:38:59 +0000