Five of the eight places for the 2013 Confederations Cup have now been decided and already the line-up looks tasty already. BRAZIL - Hosts SPAIN - World Cup holders JAPAN - Asian Cup 2011 winners MEXICO - Gold Cup 2011 winners URUGUAY - Copa America 2011 winners These famous five will be joined by the winners of Euro 2012, the 2013 African Nations Cup and next year's Oceania championship. The Brazilian World Cup warm-up event will take place between the 16th and 30th of June 2013 in five cities - Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Porto Alegre, Rio and Salvador. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

CONCACAF Gold Cup Final, Rose Bowl, Pasadena Mexico 4:2 USA Bradley 8', Donovan 23' Barrera 29' & 50', Guardado 36', Dos Santos 76' Mexico overturned a two-goal deficit to retain their status as champions of North & Central America following an action-packed win over the United States in Pasadena. In front of a largely pro-Mexican crowd of 93,420 which left the Rose Bowl feeling more like the Azteca, the USA stormed into a 2-0 advantage after Michael Bradley headed Freddy Adu's corner in after eight minutes and Landon Donovan coolly slotted home Clint Dempsey's deft through-ball a quarter of an hour later. Donovan celebrated by mimicking a chicken, a mocking reference to the contaminated fowl Mexico had blamed for returning five positive drug tests shortly before the tournament. Unlike in 2009 when the more lucrative pull of the FIFA Confederations Cup saw the US field a B-team in the Gold Cup, Bob Bradley picked a strong starting eleven with Donovan the sole MLS representative. But a crucial injury early on to experienced full-back Steve Cherundolo left Jonathan Bornstein, who plays his football for Tigres in Mexico, and Aston Villa's Eric Lichaj, who spent last season on loan at Leeds, holding the backline together. Their inexperience proved costly as the US left several gaps which were exploited by raiding Mexicans. Tactically, the Americans proved their own worst enemy by gambling on maintaining an open game when two goals to the good. Bornstein was caught out of position when Pablo Barrera pulled one back just short of the half-hour, the West Ham man finding the time and space to fire past Tim Howard from Israel Castro's defence-splitting lance. With 36 minutes gone the American cushion had evaporated. Giovani Dos Santos was again a tormentor supreme, running onto Castro's chip before teasing Bornstein and whipping in a cross which Lichaj could only knock into the path of Andres Guardado for an easy tap-in. So dangerous was Dos Santos in a Mexican shirt, that once more it raised the question of why he cannot find a place in Tottenham Hotspur's first-team squad. The former Barcelona starlet has been on the North London club's books since 2008 but has only made ten appearances, spending more time on loan at Ipswich, Galatasaray and last season, at Racing Santander in Spain. Barrera netted his second and Mexico's third five minutes after the break with the goal of the game. Having peeled away from Carlos Bocanegra on the edge of the box, he met Guardado's diagonal assist first-time with a classy hit from the outside of his boot which left Howard clutching air. Now the US had to play catch-up. Bocanegra crashed the box at a set-piece as he does so well but guided his header inches wide of the upright. And when Dempsey curled a shot against the crossbar with goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera rooted to the spot just short of the hour it looked like it was not going to be the US' day. The ebullient Dos Santos clinched the cup fourteen minutes from time as he ran onto Gerardo Torrado's incisive ball and smuggled it from Howard's despairing lunges. He then led a host of white shirts on a merry-dance through the box before lobbing the lot of them with a spectacular finish worthy of a tournament-decider. Chicharito failed to get on the day's scoresheet but ended up player of the tournament (MVP) and top scorer with seven goals. The defeat was doubly sour for the US as it means there will be no repeat of their 2009 Confederations Cup heroics when they beat Spain and led Brazil 2-0 in the final before succumbing 3-2. Instead, Mexico join hosts Brazil, Spain and Japan as qualifiers in the eight-team tournament in June 2013. The winners of the 2011 Copa America, Euro 2012, the 2012 OFC Nations Cup and the 2013 African Cup of Nations will complete the line-up. The Gold Cup remains somewhat of an oddity for several reasons: It is biennial instead of every four years, has had guest teams almost win it before and its only two strong sides invariably make it to the final, unless a superior tournament robs them of their first-teamers. When as this year it hands the winners passage to the next Confederations Cup however, it is taken seriously. It is always held in one country (the USA) but as on Sunday, the volume of Latino expat support can leave the host nation feeling like it is playing tough away games. Tim Howard was less than impressed by the Spanish-language trophy presentation: "CONCACAF should be ashamed of themselves," he fumed. "I think it's a f*****g disgrace...You can bet your ass if we were in Mexico City, it wouldn't be all in English." For a region turned upside-down this month through internecine conflict ending in the resignation of its notorious boss Jack Warner, there was at least an exciting game of football to remind everyone what it should all be about. USA: Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Clarence Goodson, Eric Lichaj, Steve Cherundolo (Jonathan Bornstein 11'), Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley, Alejandro Bedoya (Juan Agudelo 63'), Landon Donovan, Freddy Adu (Sacha Kljestan 86'). Mexico: Alfredo Talavera, Rafael Marquez, Carlos Salcido (Torres 28'), Hector Moreno, Andres Guardado, Gerado Torrado, Israel Castro, Pablo Barrera, Efrain Juarez, Giovani Dos Santos, Javier Hernandez. Shots on target: USA 4, Mexico 8 Possession: USA 46%, Mexico 54% Att: 93,420 (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

FIFA Confederations Cup Final, Johannesburg BRAZIL 3:2 USA USA - Dempsey 10' USA - Donovan 27' BRA- Luis Fabiano 46' BRA- Luis Fabiano 74' BRA- Lucio 84' Brazil retained the Confederations Cup after a real game of two halves at Ellis Park saw the United States take a shock 2-0 lead before succumbing to a Brazilian tempest in the second half to lose 3-2.

With South Korea safely qualified for the 2010 World Cup, it was time to head to South Africa and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. This competition is a rehearsal for the massive festival of football that comes next summer. It features the champion of each of the six continental confederations as well as the World Cup host, South Africa obviously, and the world champions, Italy. The eight-nation quadrennial tournament is one of the better ideas that the world governing body has had over the years. It gives everyone a chance for a dry run and to iron out any rough spots. The teams that make it get a great opportunity to check out training facilities in South Africa but even the pioneers often have to fight for their favored spots. The United States and Italy have fallen in love with one pristine training park in Centurion just outside Johannesburg. The Europeans used it for this competition but have been shocked as the Americans slipped in behind their backs to do a deal with the authorities. Italy are not happy - in fact, the Azzurri have not had the best of times this summer/winter.

In an extraordinary reversal of fortune the USA made it through to the Confederations Cup semi-finals after defeating Egypt 3-0 in Rustenberg. Italy's 0-3 reverse to Brazil in the coinciding match meant the Americans advanced on goals scored with three teams left on three points at the end of the group stage. Strikes from Charlie Davies, Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey sent the US through to the knock-out stages of the Confederations Cup for the first time. But after losing 3-1 to Italy and 3-0 to Brazil, only the brave expect the Yanks to top the Spanish in the semi-finals

Hosts South Africa kicked off the 2009 Confederations Cup with a 0-0 draw with Asian champions Iraq at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium. European champions Spain thrashed New Zealand 5-0 in Rustenburg with the help of a first-half Fernando Torres hat-trick. Over 48,000 fans saw South Africa waste a number of opportunities to begin their Confederations Cup campaign in style. Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News

The Confederations Cup kicks off on Sunday with Brazil and Spain the bookies' favorites to come out on top. Brazil won the last Confederations Cup in 2005 beating Argentina 4-1 in Frankfurt. Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips

The draw for the 2009 Confederations Cup was held on 22 November, 2008 in Johannesburg. The competition will take place in South Africa from June 14 to June 28 2009, at four venues: Johannesburg Ellis Park Stadium (62,000 capacity), Pretoria Loftus Versfeld Stadium (50,000), Bloemfontein Free State Stadium (48,000) and Rustenburg Royal Bafokeng Stadium (42,000). Group A South Africa Spain Iraq New Zealand Group B Brazil Egypt Italy USA Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags South Africa Confederations Cup football

EURO 2008 SF: Germany 3-2 Turkey, Basel Boral 22', Schweinsteiger 27', Klose 79', Semturk 86', Lahm 90' "They can play games like this, when maybe they are not the best team, and still win. That is why they are so good." Fatih Terim, Turkey's coach, could have uttered these words tonight, but in fact it was Bruce Arena after Germany had edged the States 1-0 in Ulsan in the 2002 World Cup quarter-final. Only two years ago, we were talking about how long, or rather short, Germany would last at home in the World Cup. Jurgen Klinsmann's team had been the most inept German 'elftal' (eleven) in living memory in the run-up to the 2006 tournament, but then surprised the doubters by reaching the semi-final. Now the Mannschaft have reached the EURO 2008 final with a 3-2 win over an arguably better team, nodding heads are attributing their triumph to simply being German, a synonym for depressingly successful. A Protestant work ethic (Colombia's Achilles Heel), physical force and endeavour (Portugal's downfall), mental toughness (the Dutch weakness), self-belief (count out the Spaniards), efficient organisation (bye-bye England) and a resolve to keep fighting until the end (Au revoir Les Bleus) in an 'all for one, one for all' spirit of teamwork have been in the German genes for so long, their roll of honour comes as no surprise: SEVEN World Cup finals (won three of them) and SIX European championship finals (won three of them so far) is an amazing record confirmed by Euro 2008. England have, in comparison, reached one final ever... In 1994 and 1998, Germany exited the World Cup before the semi-final stage. A colourless performance at Euro 2000 had everyone expecting them to collapse in the 2002 World Cup; instead they reached the final. Then another weak German eleven in Euro 2004 boded ill for the following World Cup, yet Germany finished third. Even in eras of weakness, they bounce back strongly. But wait a minute, didn't Croatia beat them 2-1 in this tournament? Did not the Germans look clearly second best that night, their status as early favourites following their victory over the Poles suddenly diluted? A week is a long time in football; Croatia have now been eliminated, Germany have beaten their conquerors, Turkey, and have reached yet another final, prolonging an extraordinary record. "They always put up a good show," a drunken Finn opined to me about the Germans, slumped on a Swedish park bench in Norrköpping at Euro '92. He was not wrong. Despite all the close scrapes and near misses of outrageous fortune, 'Germany are always there' is the shrugged conclusion we must draw once more, however short memories are in football. Incidentally, thank God tonight's game was in Basel and not Vienna. The Austrian capital witnessed a thunderstorm so strong it forced the evacuation of the central FanZone fifteen minutes before the end of the game. Two people were trampled in the rush to escape the tempest, requiring hospital treatment, while those who did make it to nearby bars would not have seen Miroslav Klose's strike, as the Austrian TV channel showing the game, ORF1, lost its signal for eight minutes due to the inclement weather. German TV suffered a similar break in transmission, thanks to a thunderstorm near Basel knocking out the picture relay. Vienna's central FanZone, the largest at EURO 2008, has played host to crowds of up to 100,000 people on match nights. * * * Charlie Dempsey, the Scots-born New Zealander who was President of the Oceania Football Confederation for an amazing 36 years, has died aged 87. Dempsey famously hit the world's headlines when he abstained in 2000 from voting for the destination of the 2006 World Cup, thereby handing the tournament to Germany instead of its expected hosts, South Africa. The world's cameras were suddenly focused on a rather doddery old Scot who had decided not to vote as a member of FIFA's 24-strong executive committee on the most important sporting tournament in the world. Dempsey claimed others had attempted to bribe him and that he had no wish to make enemies by voting. As it happened, Germany ran a hugely successful World Cup in 2006 and South Africa got four more years to prepare to host it, winning the vote for 2010 unopposed. Dempsey rather should be remembered for promoting football in a country obsessed with another sport (rugby union) and getting Oceania to join FIFA as a full member confederation in 1996. Soon after the World Cup vote in 2000, Dempsey quit as President, dismayed at the media assault on him and his family on account of his perceived cowardice. Oceania is still fighting for a permanent place in the World Cup Finals, after New Zealand's poor performance at the 2005 Confederations Cup persuaded FIFA President Sepp Blatter to change his mind about awarding it an automatic qualification slot, precipitating Australia's unprecedented move to the Asian Football Confederation in 2006. Dempsey's proudest achievement was seeing his beloved New Zealand compete in the 1982 World Cup Finals in Spain. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

The USA retained its crown as the top nation in North & Central America by defeating traditional rivals Mexico 2-1 in the final of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup in Chicago. Neither nation had impressed in squeezing past their semi-final opponents; the US beat Canada 2-1 and Mexico edged Guadeloupe 1-0, but the big two of this FIFA region served up a rip-roaring climax to the tournament. The 50,760 in attendance at Soldier Field in Chicago were largely Mexican expats, who saw El Tricolor snatch a precious lead a minute before the interval through Atlas' starlet Andres Guardado.