Italy vs. Brazil Live Blog: Reactions and Analysis

Three-time Confederations Cup champion and host team Brazil will face Italy at 3 p.m. ET to decide which team will win Group A. 

Both teams enter the match with a 2-0 record in group play and will advance to the next round of the final four teams. 

Brazil defeated Japan 3-0 and Mexico 2-0. Neymar and Jô have led the scoring attack for the Brazilians with two goals apiece.

Italy has relied on late-game heroics to remain undefeated in the 2013 Confederations Cup.

Mario Balotelli scored in the 78th minute against Mexico to break a one to one tie.

Japan led Italy 2-1 at halftime, but allowed two goals in the first seven minutes of the second half. Japan's Shinji Okazaki tied the game in the 69th minute before Sebastian Giovinco scored the game-winner for Spain in the 86th minute. 

While both teams have the same record in group play, Brazil sits in first place due to its better goal differential. The Brazilians will win the group with a draw or a tie. Italy only wins Group A by beating Brazil.

The winner will avoid a matchup against Spain, the only undefeated team in Group B, in the round of four. 

Uruguay and Nigeria are both 1-1, but Uruguay will likely advance as the second team from Group B after defeating Nigeria 2-1. Uruguay's final match in group play is against Tahiti, who has been defeated by a combined 15 goals in two matches.

While a Confederations Cup championship is on the line in the soccer stadiums of Brazil, civil unrest is spreading rapidly throughout the country. According to Reuters, more than one million people protested in the streets of Brazil on Thursday.

The Confederations Cup games are expected to be played as scheduled despite the protests.