Hello and welcome to Rio de Janeiro for the final of the Confederations Cup 2013, it's Brazil taking on Spain for the trophy.
This is a juicy contest in store here, the final that many wanted to see, the host nations against the world champions!
There is plenty of firepower for both sides across the park, should be a cracker contest, expect goals.
We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights (be sure to refresh your browser) and all the rugby action. VIDEO will be available as soon as the final whistle goes.
-------------------------------------
LIVE COMMENTARY… Brazil 3 - 0 Spain
All video is up of the goals, check it out. Brazil celebrate victory over Spain.
90 mins - Play winding down, it's time to celebrate in Rio, that is an emphatic victory for the Brazilians!
86 mins - Ohhh Brazil prove their heads are in this to the end, David Villa with a super right foot shot, punched with authority by Cesar.
82 mins - Fred makes his way off to a thunderous applause from the home crowd, they love him in Rio! Brazil in celebration mode as they dominate possession, doing a Spain on Spain really. Players trying a few tricky bits a pieces now, not everything coming off. Remember we will have video very soon.
75 mins - Neymar once again leads the troops forward, this has been a dominant display by the home side. Can they make it four?
72 mins - It's almost celebration time here in Rio the crowd are making plenty of noise as Hulk comes to the sideline. Possibly the best name in international football at the moment, a massive bloke and a fitting name.
68 mins - Oh no! Red card for Gerard Pique, Neymar was on the break and looking dangerous, he dribbled forward and Pique did the rest, clear contact, goal scoring position and the red was shown. Fair enough really. Of course the Spanish players debate the point with the ref but it's pretty redundant stuff really. Game, set, match.
66 mins - Spain again stream forward but lack the finishing quality, it's end to end stuff at the moment, high pace, high skill.
63 mins - The visitors enjoying more ball in this second half but just can't break the Brazilian defence. Oohhh Marcelo with a chance to help Fred to a hatrick but he can't bend the cross around enough and hits the side netting.
59 mins - Spain can't really take a trick today, Torres is off, replaced by David Villa. The crowd are still in full voice, riding every challenge, every pass, hoping for another goal.
54 mins - Oohh hold on, penalty awarded to Spain... Ramos steps up to take it..HE'S MISSED IT! Went for the bottom left and simply did not hit the target. Shocker! If Spain were any chance, they really needed that to find the back of the net.
51 mins - Well then, Brazil have effectively shut this game down, with three goals and complete domination.
47 mins - GOAL! FRED SCORES AND MAKES IT THREE! A ball across goal, taken first time from Fred and a sprawling Casillas hand only helped it into to goal. Incredible, Spain are getting taught a footballing lesson here! Video of all the goals will be up as soon as the final whistle goes.
46 mins - Back underway here in Rio, Brazil with the early ball.
HALFTIME, SEE YOU SOON FOR THE SECOND HALF.
45 mins - Wow, that strike just before the break has really put the Brazilians in the box seat, as they head to the break, they lead 2-0 and it's a long way back for Spain now.
43 mins - The crowd finding their voice once again, chanting at the top of their voice. GOAAALLLLLL! NEYMAR HAS STRUCK FOR BRAZIL! 2-0! Simply stunning from Neymar, he received the ball from Oscar on the left edge of the box, took a touch and then simply smashed a left foot shot into the roof of the net, leaving Casillas with no chance of stopping it. CRACKING GOAL, BRAZIL'S PIN UP BOY MAKES IT 2-0!
40 mins - The crowd well and truly alive as Spain stream forward. Awww what a goal line save from David Luiz, the shot came in and beat keeper Cesar, Luiz was screaming abck and slid in, and somehow managed to flick the ball up and over the crossbar. Incredible. Worth a goal down the other end!
38 mins - A bit of too and fro in the middle of the park, nothing much doing in the last couple of minutes. Spain would dearly love to even this contest up before the break.
35 mins - Iniesta shows some great skills in traffic, avoiding several defenders before drawing the contact and free kick. Xavi can't do much with the dead ball play though. Neymar with a chance to break away but can't get free to stretch the legs this time.
32 mins - Another great chance goes begging for Brazil this time they take the direct route up the middle, Neymar weaving his magic before slotting a lovely ball across the face of goal to Fred. The striker has the keeper one on one but Casillas makes himself big and blocks the shot, great save. Nothing comes from the resulting corner.
28 mins - Ohhh Oscar goes down right on the edge of the area, was that a goal scoring opportunity?! The card is only yellow for Ramos much to the Brazilians disgust. No prizes for guessing what the crowd think either. Anyway it's a free kick to the home side on the right hand corner of the box, Hulk takes it on his left peg but can't find the target, high and wide.
26 mins - Neymar and Hulk make themselves known on the edge of the penalty area, Ramos with a strong challenge but the ref is happy. Neymar has a tendancy to go down fairly easily.
23 mins - Spain with more ball and earn a free kick from 40 yards. Ramos steps up to the plate but sprays his shot well wide.
19 mins - Here we go, Spain finally with some ball, Iniesta forces a save from Cesar and they get a corner. From that Torres gets a clear header but puts it well over the bar. A it more stat chat, that was the first goal Iker Casillas has ever conceded in a final in his career. Impressive.
15 mins - It fires up once again. This time Neymar takes a tumble after some contact and half the team gets involved, push and shove and plenty of heated words. Shall we stick to playing football lads? Spain seem a bit rattled really, getting involved in that kind of stuff.
12 mins - Ohh Paulinho has a crack from distance and forces Casillas into some smart work at the back, it's been all Brazil in these early stages, Spain have hardly seen any ball, let alone field position.
10 mins - Both sides are fizzed up for this one, Torres gets a talking to from the ref after a trailing leg caught Marcelo and took him to ground.
8 mins - Awww it's all Brazil at the moment, plenty of feeling in it...Oscar goes close with a shot that just misses the target. He drops his head into the turf, that was a real chance to get a second.
5 mins - All a bit of a blur with the early goal, the Brazilian crowd are in full voice and so they should be. Spain seem a bit shocked, they can't hold onto the ball.
2 mins - GOALLLLL! Brazil have scored early in this one and the crowd go nuts! A ball came in from the right side, Neymar brought it down and found Fred who was lying on the ground, who simply flicked it up over Iker Casillas and into the goal!
Kickoff - We are off, amid a sea of chanting and noise, the home side kick off and hold onto the early possession.
10:00am - The national anthems are complete, wow, the Brazilians really belted these out both the players and crowd, deafening stuff.
9:55am - Little bit of stat chat for you, these two teams haven't played each other in a competitive match since 1986.
9:50am - Here come the players, they are walking down the tunnel as the crowd start to erupt. Everyone is pumped for this one! Chanting, colour, clapping, anticipation. Strap yourself in, this is going to be a cracker.
We will start commentary from 9:50am, kickoff is approx 10:00am bringing you the weather and ground conditions. In the meantime check out the video from the Italy Vs Uruguay playoff match.
-------------------------------------
Teams:
Brazil: Julio Cesar, Daniel Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo, Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho, Oscar, Hulk, Neymar, Fred.
Spain: Iker Casillas, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Fernando Torres, Pedro Rodriguez, Juan Mata, Sergio Ramos, Sergio Busquets, Alvaro Arbeloa, Jordi Alba.
Pre match banter:
Brazilian police are carrying out the biggest security operation yet for a football match here, as Brazil plays Spain in the final of the Confederations Cup.
Authorities say 6,000 regular police will patrol near the Maracana football stadium along with nearly 500 investigative officers. About 73,000 fans are expected to attend the match.
Elite federal troops are present, but officials won't say how many. Local media put the number at a few thousand.
The show of force comes after two weeks of anti-government protest across Brazil.
Much of the protesters' ire has been aimed at the billions of dollars Brazil has spent hosting upcoming events such as the World Cup and Olympics.
However, just a few hundred protesters had gathered near the stadium in Rio several hours before the match.
Besides the protesters, there are also football fans heading to the Maracana Stadium for Sunday's Confederations Cup final between Brazil and Spain.
And those arriving at the stadium's main entrance are being met by some elite police units and military vehicles as the fans create a festive scene with Brazilian flags waving in the air. Instead of corruption and health care issues, 23-year-old teacher Vinicius Martins tells AP's Tales Azzoni that he is looking forward to the match. "It's a world classic.
Nobody wants to miss this one," Martins said. "We know it's not going to be easy for Brazil against the world champions, but we came to see the `Selecao' celebrating when it's all over."
3 News
source: newshub archive
