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Soccer Thursday: Your Running Commentary

SpainConfeds (FIFA)

By JUSTIN FERGUSON

After an exciting Wednesday, the 2013 Confederations Cup rolls on it Brazil with a doubleheader of Group B action.

Wednesday’s Confederations Cup action was highlighted by a thrilling 4-3 contest between Japan and Italy. The odds makers are predicting more goals in today’s first match—but they will all come from one side.

In one of the most lopsided matchups in major tournament history, the undisputed No. 1 team in the world, Spain, will send a reserve side to face off against a Tahiti squad that boasts an almost all-amateur roster. Tahiti, who captured the world’s attention with a shocking goal in their opener against Nigeria, has around 500-1 odds to pull off what could possibly be the biggest upset in soccer history.

The second match of the day, Nigeria vs. Uruguay, promises to have more balance. The Super Eagles of Nigeria are coming off a 6-1 win over Tahiti while Uruguay tries to stay alive in the competition after struggling in a 2-1 loss to Spain.

Finally, the USWNT takes on South Korea in the second of two friendlies, with Abby Wambach just two goals away from Mia Hamm’s record of 158 goals.

If you will be watching today’s action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Today’s TV schedule is after the jump):

3pm – ESPN/ESPN3 – Spain vs. Tahiti

6pm – ESPN/ESPN3 – Nigeria vs. Uruguay

7:30pm – NBC Sports Network – U.S. WNT vs. South Korea

Comments

  1. Fwiw – Abby Wambach breaks the all time goals scored record in ladies national team play, surpassing Mia Hamm. And of course it’s a header.

    Whether ya care or not about our USWNT, a superb achievement and f***ing earned as she definitely puts in on the line.

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  2. Urugauy beating a depleted Nigeria. They will get killed by Brazil who just does not look at good as they did 4 years ago.

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  3. Uruguay is just not that good. The game might be tied but they are just playing terrible. They are 5th in their group in qualfying at the moment and play Peru in Peru next. I rather see Peru get that 5th spot than Uruguay.

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  4. If I was told I got to play against the likes of torres, David Villa, David Silva, etc… I wouldn’t care what the score line was, I’d just be thrilled to play.

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  5. What a stupid post on twitter: SiriusXM FC ‏@SiriusXMFC 1m

    Should #Spain have taken out their stars by now?

    Um, they’ve used their subs, and what exactly is on their bench? Scrubs?

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    • wow. that’s a terrible tweet. Spain DID bench, essentially, their entire first team for this game! so their “stars” were out. and like you said, you only get 3 subs…

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    • Yeah I’m feeling bad for them. They are gassed. The image of the keeper just laying there in disgust with himself after missing that ball.

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      • I don’t feel bad…. If that was me I wouldn’t care if they scored 100 on me. I would love every minute of the slaughter just the chance to play Spain in meaningful tournament. Granted as a fan it is tough to watch but I wager it is a dream come true for these amateurs.

      • I do not feel bad for them either. They are having a blast, They will I’m sure get some brazileras after all is said and done.

  6. Tahiti’s games pretty much ensure that this will be the highest scoring FIFA int’l tournament in a long time. But even discounting Tahiti this tournament is averaging over 3 goals a game – well above recent FIFA tourneys, I believe.

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      • Probably. He’s really really fast.

        Would love to see a scientific comparison of some sort.

      • there is a documentary on the science behind why Ronaldo is so good.

        “Cristiano Ronaldo: Tested To The Limit”

      • I saw part of one on him where people took corners and crosses to him and turned the lights off immediately when the ball was hit and he still made the run and headed the ball into the goal without being able to see anything.

      • That entire show was sick… I couldn’t believe the tests they came up with, then how well he did.. no matter how arrogant he is, you gotta give him his props after watching that thing

      • agreed. and honestly, CR isn’t as arrogant as people think. there was another documentary on Ronaldo, which the title is escaping me now, but it really gives you a good look at him, as a person, off the field. i would have never realized he was a nerdy kid from a small Portuguese island with a funny accent that people made fun of.

        also, found a good movie on Netflix called “Hermano.” completely off topic, but a good soccer movie.

  7. Juan Mata is trying flying scissor kicks now. I love the Tahiti story, but this is emb@rrassing for all the teams involved. They shouldn’t be anywhere near this tournament.

    They could have 15 goals already and it’s more upsetting to watch Spain basically try to not score or do things they’d never think of trying normally simply to keep this in hand.

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    • Do you actually think that they are not trying? How naive are you? If Spain could have score 50 goals, they would have. This is business. There goal is to win and nothing less.

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  8. I like the Tahiti story too, but the commentators need to relax and be more objective. A guy makes a 40 yard run and then easily has the ball taken away in the middle of the pitch and they go crazy about their character.

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  9. I guess I’m curious to see what it would look like for my club team to take on Spain… even if it is “only” their B-team. Tahiti can only hope to have some fun. If they manage score, what a story to tell.

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    • Yeah, if their national team consisted of their B team, they might not even qualify. Did you see the standing of their group?

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    • This A team/B team stuff is absurd when you look at a country like Spain. The hierarchy comes down to training, form, and manager’s choice. With our team there are certain players that make huge differences in quality, Bradley, Dempsey, Altidore–clearly A squad players, so we have a clear depth chart. Spain doesn’t. They simply have about a dozen world class players and a score more that are knocking on the door. They’ve got a B team, but you haven’t seen them yet because their A team is 30 players deep.

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    • This A team/B team stuff is absurd when you look at a country like Spain. The hierarchy comes down to training, form, and manager’s choice. With our team there are certain players that make huge differences in quality, Bradley, Dempsey, Altidore–clearly A squad players, so we have a clear depth chart. Spain doesn’t. They simply have about a dozen world cl@ss players and a score more that are knocking on the door. They’ve got a B team, but you haven’t seen them yet because their A team is 30 players deep.

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  10. Alarming news out of Brazil–Spain’s national team was robbed during their last match. Their hotel was burgled and money/items were taken.

    Security is so bad that the teams themselves are being robbed during an 8 team tournament?

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