The FIFA Confederations Cup was organized as an opportunity for regional champions to come together and compete against one another for a world title in non-World Cup years. Historically less-recognized confederations have a chance to compete with the more renowned confederations in a smaller format than the actual World Cup.
Since including all Confederations and changing its name to the Confederations Cup in 1997, there have been winners from three different confederations.
The 2009 Confederations Cup will run from June 14th to the 28th in South Africa. Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium, Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Bloemfontein's Free State Stadium, and Rustenburg's Royal Bafokeng Stadium are the host venues. All will be used for the 2010 World Cup.
As Gold Cup champions, the United States were drawn into Group B along with Italy, Brazil, and Egypt. The US opens play against Italy on June 15th.
Confederation Cup History
1992
Participants: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, United States, Ivory Coast
Winner: Argentina
Host Country: Saudi Arabia
Top Scorers:
Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) 2 goals
Bruce Murray (United States) 2 goals
The original Confederations Cup was called the King Fahed Cup, featuring the Asian Cup, Copa America, Gold Cup, and African Nations Cup winners. The tournament started at the semifinal stage, with Saudi Arabia beating the United States 3-0 and Argentina beating the Ivory Coast 4-0. Argentina won the final 3-1, with the United States finishing third after beating the Ivory Coast 5-2.
1995
Participants: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Nigeria, Denmark, Mexico, Japan
Winner: Denmark
Hosts: Saudi Arabia
Top Scorers:
Luis Garcia (Mexico) 3 goals
Daniel Amokachi (Nigeria) 2 goals
Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) 2 goals
Peter Rasmussen (Denmark) 2 goals
The final year of the King Fahed Cup version of the tournament included the UEFA champions Denmark along with the introduction of a group stage. Denmark and Mexico advanced from Group A, joined by Argentina and Nigeria from Group B. Unlike the current version of the tournament where that would lead to a semifinal stage, the group winners advanced to the finals with the runners-up playing for third-place. Denmark beat Argentina 2-0 in the final and Mexico beat Nigeria on penalties for third.
1997
Participants: Brazil, Australia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Czech Republic, South Africa, Uruguay.
Winner: Brazil
Host Country: Saudi Arabia
Top Scorers:
Romario (Brazil) 7 goals
Smicer (Czech Republic) 5 goals
Ronaldo (Brazil) 4 goals
This was the first year of the tournament under FIFA management. The final pitted surprise Australia against Brazil, but the Aussies fell 6-0 to soccer’s powerhouse. Brazil had coasted to the final after a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia, a 0-0 draw with Australia, a 3-2 win over Mexico, and a 2-0 defeat of the Czech Republic in the semi-finals. Uruguay became the surprise of the tournament, losing only by one to Australia to miss the final, and then finished at fourth-place after losing to the Czechs in the consolation game.
1999
Participants: Germany, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, Brazil, Egypt, United States, Mexico, New Zealand
Winner: Mexico
Host Country: Mexico
Top Scorers:
Ronaldinho (Brazil) 6 goals
Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Mexico) 6 goals
Marzouk Al Otaibi (Saudi Arabia): 6 goals
CONCACAF had two teams in the final four as archrivals the United States and Mexico were pitted together for a semifinal. The game seemed headed for penalty kicks when Mexico scored a golden goal in extra time. The final placed 1997 Confederations Cup champion Brazil against Mexico, and though Brazil fought hard, they could not stop the Mexicans from reaching the win at home, 4-3. Saudi Arabia finished in fourth place overall and the U.S. wrapped up third place.
2001
Participants: Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico and Korea Republic
Winner: France
Host Country: Korea and Japan
Top Scorers:
Shaun Murphy (Australia) 2 goals
Patrick Viera (France) 2 goals
Robert Pires (France) 2 goals
Eric Carriere (France) 2 goals
Sylvain Wiltord (France) 2 goals
Takayuki Suzuki (Japan) 2 goals
Sun Hong Hwang (Korea) 2 goals
Reigning world champion France acted as such in a tournament where “Les Bleus” cruised to the final after only one 1-0 loss to Australia in Group Play. The French defeated Brazil 2-1 and then took Japan for the win in the final. Strong performances included the Aussies who defeated both France and Brazil only to become tripped up by Japan in the semifinals. Japan and Korea played to the home crowds and also had memorable performances, with Japan taking home a second place finish.
2003
Participants: Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, France, Japan, New Zealand, Turkey, and United States
Winner: France
Host Country: France
Top Scorers
Thierry Henry (France) 4 goals
Robert Pires (France) 3 goals
Okan Yilmaz (Turkey) 3 goals
Tuncay Sanli (Turkey) 3 goals
Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan) 3 goals
Giovanni Hernandez (Colombia) 3 goals
The 2003 Confederations Cup included a tragic turn of events when Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed and died on the field during a semi-final match against Colombia. The final featured Cameroon versus France with a minute’s silence to observe the fallen player before the game. France won that game on a golden goal by Thierry Henry, but captains from both teams stood to hold the Confederations Cup in the awards ceremony following the game. Turkey and Colombia both had strong showings as well in the tournament, reaching the semifinals; Turkey defeated Colombia in the third-place game.
2005
Participants: Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Greece, Mexico, Tunisia, Japan, and Australia
Winner: Brazil
Host Country: Germany
Top Scorers
Adriano (Brazil) 5 goals
Michael Ballack (Germany) 4 goals
John Aloisi (Australia) 4 goals
Luciano Figueroa (Argentina) 4 goals
The warm-up for the 2006 World Cup gave the world a classic final, with Brazil getting past hosts Germany 3-2 to face Argentina, advancing on penalties over Mexico. Brazil dominated, scoring all four of their goals before Argentina got their first, winning 4-1 to take their second Confederations Cup title. This was the final tournament on the two-year cycle, with FIFA switching to the year before the World Cup with the World Cup host also hosting the Confederations Cup. As of 2005, the UEFA and CONMEBOL champions are not obligated to participate, though both opted in for the 2009 Confederations Cup.
