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Confed Cup: Top 3 past finals as Chile & Germany prepare for St. Petersburg showdown
Chile and Germany meet in the Confederations Cup final in St. Petersburg on Sunday, bidding to win the 10th edition of the competition (including its previous format as the King Fahd Cup). RT Sport looks back at three classic finals from previous tournaments.
Mexico 4-3 Brazil – Mexico, 1999
Perhaps the best-ever Confederations Cup final for raw emotion and drama, 1999 hosts Mexico beat South American rivals Brazil in front of 110,000 fans at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
The hosts booked a place in the final courtesy of a 1-0 extra-time win against the United States in the semifinal, while Brazil had crushed Saudi Arabia 8-2 in their previous match.
The stage was set for a clash between two continental giants, with the Brazil team, led by Vanderlei Luxemburgo, boasting the likes of Ronaldinho, Ze Roberto and Emerson.
Mexico, with Manuel Lapuente at the helm, had the legendary Cuauhtemoc Blanco up front and charismatic Jorge Campos in goal.
The hosts raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Miguel Zepeda on 13 minutes and Jose Manuel Abundis just before the half-hour mark.
Brazil hit back through a Serginho penalty on 43 minutes and a Roni strike on 47 minutes. Mexico responded well with Zepeda netting his second just four minutes later, before Blanco scored with a superb left-foot shot on 62 minutes to give the hosts a two-goal cushion.
That was pegged back to one when Ze Roberto scored just a minute later, but Mexico held on to claim a famous win.
Mexico are the only team at Russia 2017 to have won the tournament previously, and are in the third place playoff against Portugal in Moscow on Sunday.
United States 2-3 Brazil – South Africa, 2009
The US almost pulled off a seismic shock before finally being beaten by a Brazil team led by Dunga that included Kaka and Robinho.
The US went into the final on the back of a stunning 2-0 win over European champions Spain and met Copa America winners Brazil in the final, who had overcome hosts South Africa 1-0.
The sides had met earlier in the competition, with Brazil running out comfortable 3-0 winners in the group stage, but this was a US team infused with confidence following the win against Spain.
With more than 50,000 people watching the final at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, the US took a 2-0 lead within the first 30 minutes through goals from Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan.
They seemed to be on course to claim another huge scalp, but Brazil hit back through a Luis Fabiano double and late Lucio header that gave the South Americans the title – which was at that time their third Confed Cup triumph. The US won plaudits for playing their part in a hugely entertaining final, though.
Brazil 3-0 Spain – Brazil, 2013
Another final involving the South American serial winners. The hosts went into a mouth-watering clash as very much the underdogs, despite some dazzling Neymar performances in the earlier rounds.
Brazil were languishing in 22nd in the world rankings, Spain were flying high after winning the 2010 World Cup and back-to-back European titles.
Vicente del Bosque’s team had the likes of Igor Casillas, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres in the line-up; Brazil had the budding superstar Neymar, David Luiz, Fred and Dani Alves.
In front of vociferous home support in the form of over 70,000 fans at the Maracana in Rio, Brazil ensured the game was anything but the tight contest many had expected.
Fred gave the hosts the lead after just 2 minutes when he bundled the ball home, before David Luiz amazingly cleared the ball off the line to keep Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men in front. A moment of Neymar magic lit up the tournament again on 44 minutes, when he fired a vicious left-foot strike past Casillas to send the Maracana into raptures.
Fred finished smartly just after half-time to put the result beyond doubt, while Ramos missed a penalty and Spain suffered the ignominy of having Pique sent off with 20 minutes to play.
Brazil claimed the win, ending Spain’s world-record run of unbeaten games in the process, and sending Rio into carnival mode.
The Chile-Germany clash in St. Petersburg this Sunday promises to be a cracking game, but it clearly has high standards to live up to.