 TheEstádio do Maracanã hosted the final. | |||||||
| Event | 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 30 June 2013 | ||||||
| Venue | Estádio do Maracanã,Rio de Janeiro | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Neymar (Brazil) | ||||||
| Referee | Björn Kuipers (Netherlands) | ||||||
| Attendance | 73,531 | ||||||
| Weather | Clear night 23 °C (73 °F) 81%humidity[1] | ||||||
←2009 2017 → | |||||||
The2013 FIFA Confederations Cup final was afootball match to determine the winners of the2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. The match was held at theEstádio do Maracanã,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 30 June 2013 and was contested by the winners of the semi-finals, Brazil and Spain.[2][3] Brazil defeated Spain 3–0 with goals fromFred andNeymar, thus breaking Spain's record of 29 competitive games without a defeat.[4]
The match was Brazil's fifth appearance and third straight in the final (after1997,1999,2005, and2009). Spain reached their first ever Confederations Cup final. The win gave Brazil their third consecutive Confederations Cup title and fourth overall.[5][6]
Before the final, Brazil and Spain had previously faced each other eight times, of which Brazil have recorded a total of four wins compared to Spain's two, with the remaining two matches ending in draws.[7] The two sides' debut match was played on 27 May 1934, in the first round of the1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy, held at theStadio Luigi Ferraris inGenoa. It ended in a 3–1 win in favor of Spain. Sixteen years later, at the1950 World Cup, the two sides met again in the final round stage, which containedSweden andUruguay. Brazil responded by winning 6–1 in front of their 153,000 home spectators. The last meeting took place 13 November 1999, in a 0–0 friendly draw at theBalaídos,Vigo, Spain.[8]
Brazil had won theFIFA Confederations Cup three times, in1997 againstAustralia, in2005 againstArgentina and2009 against theUnited States. They had competed in every Confederations Cup competition since FIFA's takeover in 1997, with Brazil losing the1999 final againstMexico 4–3. Spain qualified for the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, their first ever appearance after winning theUEFA European Championship in2008 againstGermany. They reached the semi-finals, but lost 2–0 to the United States, resulting in Spain competing for the third-place play-off againstSouth Africa, who had lost 1–0 against Brazil in the second semi-final match. The match ended in a 3–2 scoreline for Spain. Brazil were ranked 22nd in theFIFA World Rankings, considered to be their worst rank ever achieved, while Spain were ranked first.
| Brazil | Round | Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Japan | 3–0 | Matchday 1 |  Uruguay | 2–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Mexico | 2–0 | Matchday 2 |  Tahiti | 10–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Italy | 4–2 | Matchday 3 |  Nigeria | 3–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group A winner
| Final standings | Group B winner
Source:FIFA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Result | Knockout stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Uruguay | 2–1 | Semi-finals | Italy | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (7–6p) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheEstádio do Maracanã inRio de Janeiro was announced as the venue of the final. It is the largest of the six 2013 Confederations Cup venues. The stadium was used at the2014 FIFA World Cup.[9]
The Adidas Cafusa, provided byAdidas, was the official match ball of the tournament. The ball had been previously used at the2012 FIFA Club World Cup.[10]
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Björn Kuipers of theRoyal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and UEFA was selected to referee the final. Having been an international referee since 2006,[11] he made his debut in the2006 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship youth competition, where he officiated in the final betweenCzech Republic under-17s andRussia under-17s. One year later, he appeared in his first Champions League match in July betweenZeta andKaunas in the first qualifying round. On 14 January 2009, Kuipers was promoted to elite level in European football. This led to him taking charge of his first properChampions League match on 29 September 2009 in the group stage betweenBarcelona andDynamo Kyiv. Ahead of the final, Kuipers had refereed 23 Champions League matches and 15UEFA Cup/Europa League matches, including his first senior final, the2013 UEFA Europa League Final betweenBenfica andChelsea. He has also refereed at the2010 FIFA Club World Cup andUEFA Euro 2012.
Kuipers was assisted by his compatriots Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra; the trio had previously taken charge of the Group B match betweenNigeria andUruguay earlier in the tournament. They were joined by fourth and fifth officialsFelix Brych and Mark Borsch, representing theGerman Football Association (DFB).
In the second minute of the game, a cross from the right byHulk was not dealt with by defendersÁlvaro Arbeloa,Gerard Piqué or goalkeeperIker Casillas. The ball fell to Brazil forwardFred, who had slipped and while lying on the ground managed to improvise and poke the ball past Casillas to give Brazil the lead. In 39th minute, Spain almost equalised whenPedro beat the goalkeeper from the right but saw his shot hooked off the line and over the bar byDavid Luiz. Brazil increased their lead just before half time whenOscar passed toNeymar on the left side of the penalty area and he hit the ball left footed hard and high at the near post past Casillas.[12] The third goal for Brazil arrived two minutes into the second half when Fred curled the ball low right footed inside the far post from the left, with Casillas getting his fingers to the shot but unable to keep it out. Five minutes later,Marcelo trippedJesús Navas to give away a penalty.Sergio Ramos took the penalty but he shot low, right-footed, and past the goalkeeper's right post. In the 68th minute, Gerard Piqué was shown a red card for bringing down Neymar just outside the penalty area.[13]
          Brazil[14] |      Spain[14] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
| Brazil | Spain | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 3 | 0 |
| Total shots | 14 | 15 |
| Shots on target | 8 | 7 |
| Ball possession | 47% | 53% |
| Corner kicks | 1 | 8 |
| Fouls committed | 26 | 16 |
| Offsides | 2 | 0 |
| Yellow cards | 0 | 2 |
| Red cards | 0 | 1 |
Brazil no. 10 ghosted around the penalty area, like an introvert at family reunions, before gracefully timing his run and meeting Oscar's serve under a surrealistically high-pressured situation. Spain's Álvaro Arbeloa, who lunged into a challenge later than a regional bus reaches its destination in Lapland, followed in shame and disbelief as Cafusa's trajectory darted past the powerless Iker Casillas.
