Confederations Cup – Brazil vs Japan
Brazil needs to have a really good presentation in the Confederations Cup as they are one year away from hosting the World Cup; the Brazilians will take on Japan in the first game of the tournament, this Saturday at 3 PM ET at Mané Garrincha stadium.
Brazil beat France 3-0 last week in a preparation match that showed the team looks better than expected, after coach Luiz Felipe Scolari finally found his starting 11.
There is a lot of pressure on striker Neymar who just signed a huge deal to play next season at Barcelona.
“It’s obvious that, in the Selecao, I can’t be the same type of player that I was at Santos,” Neymar said. “I’m playing the same way as I always play, I didn’t change that at all. But it’s more difficult to play in the national team than it was with Santos. I had more space there, that doesn’t happen against other national teams.”
“He has been doing what I ask him to do,” coach Scolari said about Neymar. “I’m extremely satisfied with what he has been doing for the national team so far.”
Japan will be anything, but an easy rival as the Japanese became the second qualified team (along with Brazil) to be at the World Cup need year. Honda s their playmaker and will try to give the Brazilians some headache on Saturday.
“I don’t think we’ve played as poorly as some say without Honda. Honda is an important player to us, but we do have people who can step up and fill in”, Italian coach Alberto Zaccheroni.
Brazil is a huge favorite in the moneyline listed at -400 and Japan +800 to upset the host; the draw pays +425.
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
