FIFA Confederations Cup 2013: Complete Preview for This Week's Action

This week the FIFA Confederations Cup will feature several key matchups to determine who will move on to the knockout stage next week.

The string of games will run all week at various venues throughout Brazil and finish up on Saturday and Sunday.

Advancing teams may be determined well before those weekend clashes, though. Top teams Spain, Nigeria, Italy and Brazil have already secured three points, making their mid-week matchups gateways to the next stage.

Here’s a schedule depicting all of the action as well as a look at what to expect out of each of the two groups.

Group A Schedule and Outlook

Date	Time	Location	Teams	TV	Stream
Sat., June 15	3 p.m. ET	Brasilia	Brazil vs. Japan	ESPN	WatchESPN
Sun., June 16	3 p.m. ET	Rio De Janeiro	Mexico vs. Italy	ESPN	WatchESPN
Wed., June 19	3 p.m. ET	Fortaleza	Brazil vs. Mexico	ESPN	WatchESPN
Wed., June 19	6 p.m. ET	Recife	Italy vs. Japan	ESPN	WatchESPN
Sat., June 22	3 p.m. ET	Salvador	Italy vs. Brazil	ESPN News	WatchESPN
Sat., June 22	3 p.m. ET	Belo Horizonte	Japan vs. Mexico	ESPN	WatchESPN

Group A has a decent group of competitors from top to bottom. Brazil and Italy came in as the favorites and each earned three points to begin their big for a Confederations Cup crown.

Brazil will have fixtures against Italy and Mexico this week after thumping Japan 3-0 during their opening matchup.

After narrowly edging Mexico for three points, the Italians will take on Japan on Wednesday and then meet the favored hosts on Saturday.

Mexico and Japan have the odds stacked against them if they hope to advance to the knockout stage. Both sides will play one another in a pivotal final group clash on Saturday that could have vast implications.

This group could easily be decided much sooner than Saturday, though. If Mexico and Japan drop three points to Italy and Brazil on Wednesday, their final fixture will be for national pride, not a shot at advancing to the next stage.

Group B Schedule and Outlook

Date	Time	Location	Teams	TV	Stream
Sun., June 16	6 p.m. ET	Recife	Spain vs. Uruguay	ESPN	WatchESPN
Mon., June 17	3 p.m. ET	Belo Horizonte	Tahiti vs. Nigeria	ESPN	WatchESPN
Thurs., June 20	3 p.m. ET	Rio De Janeiro	Spain vs. Tahiti	ESPN	WatchESPN
Thurs., June 20	6 p.m. ET	Salvador	Nigeria vs. Uruguay	ESPN	WatchESPN
Sun., June 23	3 p.m. ET	Fortaleza	Nigeria vs. Spain	ESPN	WatchESPN
Sun., June 23	3 p.m. ET	Recife	Uruguay vs. Tahiti	ESPN2	WatchESPN

The Group B draw, also known as the “Spanish group”, features much less competition than the stacked Group A bunch. Uruguay and Spain met to kick things off and the Spaniards earned an easy three points to more or less solidify their advancement to the next stage early on.

Uruguay have a challenge ahead of them if they hope to bounce back to advance. A loss, or even a draw, in their next matchup against Nigeria could doom their hopes of reaching the knockout round.

Nigeria is an accomplished side, winning the Africa Cup of Nations tournament earlier in the year. They outclassed the amateur Tahitian side on Monday and may have to rely on goal-differential in order to reach the next stage along with Spain.

As mentioned, the amateur Tahitian club are completely overmatched with world-classs clubs like Spain and Uruguay. Just being on this large FIFA stage will be a worthwhile experience for the small Pacific Island nation. Make no mistake about it, though, their upcoming matches against Spain and Uruguay could be ugly.