FIFA Confederations Cup 2009

FIFA Confederations Cup 2009
FIFA Confederations Cup 2009
Number of nations	8th
winner	Brazil (3rd title)
venue	South Africa
Opening game	June 14, 2009
Endgame	June 28, 2009
Games	16
Gates	44  (⌀: 2.75 per game)
spectator	584,894  (⌀: 36,556 per game)
Top scorer	Luís Fabiano (5 goals)
Best player	Kaká
Best goalkeeper	Tim Howard
yellow cards	50  (⌀: 3.13 per game)
Red cards	4  (⌀: 0.25 per game)

The FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 ( English FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 ) was the sixth staging of this intercontinental soccer competition for national teams under this name and under the care of FIFA and the eighth overall and took place from 14th to 28th June in South Africa . For the host, the competition was a dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup, which will take place there a year later .

South American champions Brazil won the tournament in the final against Gold Cup winners USA and were the only record winners of the competition after their victories in 1997 and 2005 with a total of three titles.

Venues

In autumn 2006, five out of nine cities were selected as the venues. The capital Pretoria , Cape Town with the seat of parliament and the six-month seat of government from January to June, Johannesburg , Durban , Bloemfontein , Rustenburg , Polokwane , Nelspruit and Port Elizabeth came into question . In July 2008 it was declared that the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth would not be completed on time and that the trophy would only take place in the remaining four stadiums.

The venues were the following four World Cup stadiums, all of which were modernized and expanded:

Rustenburg	Bloemfontein Johannesburg Pretoria Rustenburg Venues 2009 in South Africa	Pretoria
Royal Bafokeng Stadium		Loftus Versfeld Stadium
Capacity: 42,000		Capacity: 50,000
Bloemfontein		Johannesburg
Free State Stadium		Coca-Cola Park
Capacity: 48,000		Capacity: 60,000

Attendees

Qualified participants were:

•  South Africa as a host
•  Italy as world champion 2006
•  Spain as European champion 2008
•  Brazil won the 2007 Copa America
•  USA as the winner of the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2007
•  Iraq as Asian champions 2007
•  Egypt as Africa Champion 2008
•  New Zealand as Oceania Champion 2008

The roster of participants

Group A	Group B
1. South Africa	1. USA
2. Iraq	2. Italy
3. New Zealand	3. Brazil
4. Spain	4. Egypt

Preliminary round

The draw took place on Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 in Johannesburg.

Group A

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Spain	3	3	0	0	008-000	+8	09
2.	South Africa	3	1	1	1	002: 200	± 0	04th
3.	Iraq	3	0	2	1	000: 100	−1	02
4th	New Zealand	3	0	1	2	000: 700	−7	01

June 14 at 4:00 p.m. in Johannesburg
South Africa	-	Iraq	0-0
June 14th at 8:30 p.m. in Rustenburg
New Zealand	-	Spain	0: 5 (0: 4)
June 17th at 4:00 p.m. in Bloemfontein
Spain	-	Iraq	1: 0 (0: 0)
June 17th at 8:30 p.m. in Rustenburg
South Africa	-	New Zealand	2: 0 (1: 0)
June 20th at 8:30 p.m. in Johannesburg
Iraq	-	New Zealand	0-0
June 20th at 8:30 p.m. in Bloemfontein
Spain	-	South Africa	2: 0 (0: 0)

In Group A, hosts South Africa were a candidate for the semi-finals right after tournament favorites Spain. In the first game against Iraq, however, the Africans did not know how to convince. They did not manage to score against well-placed Iraqis despite their clear superiority. However, the highly regarded European champion also had a hard time against the Asian champions in his second game, which put the performance of South Africa into perspective. On the final day of the match, the hosts continued to progress despite a 2-0 defeat against Spain as the attacking Iraqis failed to score against New Zealand.

Group B

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Brazil	3	3	0	0	010: 300	+7	09
2.	United States	3	1	0	2	004: 600	−2	03
3.	Italy	3	1	0	2	003: 500	−2	03
4th	Egypt	3	1	0	2	004: 700	−3	03

June 15th at 4:00 p.m. in Bloemfontein
Brazil	-	Egypt	4: 3 (3: 1)
June 15 at 8:30 p.m. in Pretoria
United States	-	Italy	1: 3 (1: 0)
June 18 at 4:00 p.m. in Pretoria
United States	-	Brazil	0: 3 (0: 2)
June 18 at 8:30 p.m. in Johannesburg
Egypt	-	Italy	1: 0 (1: 0)
June 21 at 8:30 p.m. in Pretoria
Italy	-	Brazil	0: 3 (0: 3)
June 21 at 8:30 p.m. in Rustenburg
Egypt	-	United States	0: 3 (0: 1)

In group B, Brazil and world champions Italy seemed to be all about group victory. But African champions Egypt caused the first surprise of the tournament with a 1-0 win over the Italians. In the last game against Brazil, Marcello Lippi's team surprisingly lost 3-0. The United States won 3-0 against Egypt on the last day of the match and thus secured a place in the semi-finals, albeit with Brazilian support.

Final round

Semifinals

June 24th at 8:30 p.m. in Bloemfontein
Spain	-	United States	0: 2 (0: 1)
June 25 at 8:30 p.m. in Johannesburg
Brazil	-	South Africa	1: 0 (0: 0)

In the first semi-final game, Spain were the clear favorites. But their US opponents were compact and effectively exploited two mistakes in the Spanish defense. The European champion was superior in the field, but could not use any of his numerous chances.

In the second semi-final game, hosts South Africa played surprisingly well against Brazil. So they achieved a field superiority over the record world champions and had some chances to score a goal. Shortly before the end of the game, Dani Alves secured victory for the Brazilians with a direct free kick.

3rd place match

June 28th at 3 p.m. in Rustenburg
Spain	-	South Africa	3: 2 n.V. (2: 2, 0: 0)

The African hosts and the Iberians competed for third place. The game of both teams suffered from the slow flow of the game for the first 70 minutes. In the first half, the European champions were denied a regular hit because of alleged offside. South Africa took the lead through Mphela in the 73rd minute and held that lead until the 88th minute. An eventful final phase followed: Substitute striker Daniel Güiza initially equalized and only a minute later with a flick in the corner of the goal, the 2-1 for Spain. But in the 3rd minute of stoppage time, Mphela scored the 2-2 with a directly converted free-kick goal. The South Africans initially had better opportunities in extra time. The decisive goal, however, came from the Spanish England legionnaire Xabi Alonso with a free kick.

final

June 28 at 8:30 p.m. in Johannesburg
United States	-	Brazil	2: 3 (2: 0)

In the final, the North and Central American champions USA and the South American champions Brazil faced each other. This duel already existed in the preliminary round, where the Brazilians won 3-0.

In the final, however, the Americans took the lead in the 10th minute thanks to a direct decrease by Clint Dempsey. As a result, the South Americans had difficulties finding their way into the game, as the USA, like against Spain, were very compact on the defensive. Landon Donovan managed a counterattack to make it 2-0 in the 27th minute. At the beginning of the second half, Sevilla FC's Luís Fabiano scored the connection goal with a shot from the twist. Fabiano then headed the 2-2 in the 74th minute. Ten minutes later, Lúcio's header gave the Brazilians the lead, which ultimately meant the end of the game.

List of goalscorers

rank player Gates 1  Luís Fabiano 5 2  Fernando Torres 3  David Villa 3  Clint Dempsey 3 5  Kaká 2  Mohamed Zidan 2  Giuseppe Rossi 2  Daniel Güiza 2  Katlego Mphela 2  Bernard Parker 2  Landon Donovan 2 12  Mohamed Homos 1  Mohamed Shawky 1  Dani Alves 1

rank player Gates 12  Juan 1  Lúcio 1  Maicon 1  Felipe Melo 1  Robinho 1  Daniele De Rossi 1  Xabi Alonso 1  Cesc Fàbregas 1  Fernando Llorente 1  Jozy Altidore 1  Michael Bradley 1  Charlie Davies 1  Andrea Dossena ET

→ Main article : List of FIFA Confederations Cup Top Scorers

Awards

Golden Ball The "Golden Ball" for the best player of the tournament went to the Brazilian Kaká . The "Silver Ball" went to his compatriot Luís Fabiano and the "Bronze Ball" went to the American Clint Dempsey .

Golden Boot The "Golden Boot" for the best goalscorer went to the Brazilian Luís Fabiano for his five tournament goals . The "Silver Shoe" went to the Spaniard Fernando Torres and the "Bronze Shoe" to the Spaniard David Villa . Since both had the same number of goals together with the American Clint Dempsey , the assists and then the fewer minutes played decided the ranking.

Golden Glove The "Golden Glove" awarded for the first time for the best goalkeeping performance of the tournament went to US American Tim Howard . Silver and bronze trophies were not awarded in this category.

FIFA Fair Play Trophy The Brazilian national soccer team received the Fair Play award for correct sporting behavior on and off the pitch .

referee

In May 2009 FIFA nominated 9 trios of referees to lead the games. Before the start of the tournament, the teams led by Carlos Batres ( Guatemala ) and Carlos Amarilla ( Paraguay ) had to cancel their participation due to injury. For this, with the teams of Benito Archundia and Pablo Pozo , a team from the respective confederation was nominated.

Continental Association	referee	Assistant referee
AFC	Matthew Breeze	Matthew Cream Ben Wilson
CAF	Coffi Codjia	Komi Konyoh Alexis Fassinou
CONCACAF	Benito Archundia	Marvin Torrentera Héctor Vergara
CONMEBOL	Pablo Pozo	Patricio Basualto Francisco Mondria
	Jorge Larrionda	Pablo Fandiño Mauricio Espinosa
OFC	Michael Hester	Jan Hendrik-Hintz Mark Rule
UEFA	Howard Webb	Peter Kirkup Mike Mullarkey
	Martin Hansson	Henrik Andrén Fredrik Nilsson
	Massimo Busacca	Matthias Arnet Francisco Buragina

Web links

Commons : FIFA Confederations Cup 2009  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Details on the 2009 Confederations Cup on FIFA.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ dpa: South Africa deletes Port Elizabeth as the venue , July 9, 2008 11:57
2. ↑ FIFA Confederations Cup: The groups have been determined , accessed on July 6, 2009
3. ↑ FIFA appoints match officials ( Memento of May 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on May 26, 2017