Confederations Cup 2013 Schedule: Predictions for Group B's Remaining Games

The two teams coming from Group B will become official on Sunday night after the four teams face off for the last time in round-robin play.

The two games will determine more than just winners and losers. Nigeria and Uruguay have identical records to this point in the tournament, but only one is going to advance to the elimination round. Spain has already locked up one of the top seeds in the elimination stage and only one club is going to join it.

The problem is that there’s a chance that both teams win and Group B play ends without a clear second-place club. In the event that that’s the case, the team with the higher goal differential will advance, which doesn’t necessarily mean Uruguay, who defeated Nigeria 2-1.

Entering Sunday, Nigeria has scored four more goals than it has allowed. Uruguay, though, has an even goal differential at 3-3. There is, of course, the chance that neither team wins or only one does. That would make things much simpler, but as we all know, there’s never anything simple about sports.

So, now that we know the implications of what could happen on Sunday, we ask what will happen. Which teams will win and will it be Nigeria or Uruguay advancing to the elimination stage? Let’s take a look at a predicted result for each of the two games scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Complete Upcoming Confederations Cup Schedule

Date	Time	Team	Team
Sunday, June 23	3 p.m. ET	Nigeria	Spain
Sunday, June 23	6 p.m. ET	Uruguay	Tahiti
Wednesday, June 26	3 p.m. ET	Group A (1)	Group B (2)
Thursday, June 27	3 p.m. ET	Group B (1)	Group A (2)
Sunday, June 30	12 p.m. ET	Semifinal Losers
Sunday, June 30	6 p.m. ET	Semifinal Winners

Nigeria (1-0-1) vs. Spain (2-0-0)

Spain's Fernando Torres has dominated Confederations Cup play to this point in the tournament. In a pair of games, Torres has scored four times—albeit they all came against Tahiti. Torres is the real deal, though, and will look to help Spain enter the elimination stage with a clean 3-0 record.

Nnamdi Oduamadi has been fantastic for Nigeria and he’s the team's player to watch in Sunday’s matchup. He has the best odds out of anyone on the club to put a shot past Iker Casillas, the goalie for Spain. He’ll have to score a bunch in order to keep Nigeria’s title hopes alive.

Even if Nigeria loses, head coach Stephen Keshi will deem the Confederations Cup experience for his team a success, according to Reuters (h/t Yahoo! Sports). Here’s what Keshi had to say about Nigeria’s play thus far:

"

I have seen our level of professionalism and have seen our concentration, our level of preparedness before and after and during the games.

I have looked at my coaches and seen how they react with the players and have looked at the other teams as well. We do have a young team here, but these players have the heart and the quality to play and anything can happen when it is 11 against 11.

"

Taking down a powerhouse like Spain is going to be tough for the Nigerians. With Spain on fire and making quick work of every other team in the group, there’s no doubt that it’ll be a favorite in the next stage of the tournament. Spain’s game against Nigeria will be nothing more than just another warm-up for the top team.

Nigeria needs to put a ton of goals on the board in order to advance to the second round. While the Nigerians are capable of scoring a few on Spain, there’s no way they advance unless Tahiti tops Uruguay. The goal differential will not be in its favor if both teams win on Sunday.

Prediction: Spain 4, Nigeria 2

 

Uruguay (1-0-1) vs. Tahiti (0-0-2)

Uruguay is in a perfect position entering Sunday. While it lost to Spain, it gets to play the worst team in the tournament when it matters most. Uruguay will need to score several times to avoid getting eliminated via a lower goal differential. That doesn’t seem like it’ll be a problem, though, as Tahiti hasn’t played well at all.

Tahiti has allowed 16 goals through its pair of games while scoring just once. If Uruguay plays its game, there’s no reason why it can’t score more than six goals without allowing one. That should be more than enough to top Nigeria in goal differential, should both clubs win their respective fixtures.

Diego Forlan scored the biggest goal of the tournament for his team, when Uruguay topped Nigeria. Forlan scored a goal in the 51st minute, which proved to be the difference in a 2-1 victory for Uruguay. His coach, Oscar Tabarez applauded his performance, according to ESPN:

"

[Forlan] is a top striker with the way he uses both feet and the way he handles the ball. He showcased that talent tonight.

Since the draw, we knew that this was the huge match to play. We have taken a huge step toward the semifinals but we’re not there yet.

"

Tahiti doesn’t stand much of a chance against Uruguay. The most the club can do is hope to play spoiler. If Tahiti can hold Uruguay to just a few goals—let’s say four—and Nigeria wins, there’s a chance that Uruguay doesn’t advance. That’s the best-case scenario outside of a victory for Tahiti.

Prediction: Uruguay 8, Tahiti 0