3-0Host nation Brazil won the 2013 Confederations Cup by beating Spain 3-0 in the final. Although Spain is the top ranked team in the world, under the circumstances of tonight's match, they never had a chance.
Just to reach the final Spain had to endure a grueling overtime match against Italy that was eventually decided in a shoot-out. Brazil had an extra day of rest before the final and of course had the enormous support of the fans as the host nation.
And that support was directly translated onto the field. Especially in the first-half, all the calls by the referee went in Brazil's favor. Two yellow cards were issued to Spanish players, Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos, while Brazil got away with a number of fouls that went unbooked. Later in the second-half Pique was sent off with a straight red card after a foul on Neymar, who was running away from goal.
Brazil were the better team today though, and understandably so with their motivation to win. The citizens of Brazil have been quite unhappy about the recent build up to next year's World Cup, protesting for the last two weeks. The players knew that the protests were towards the government, not the teams, and by winning the tournament they would at least give the people something to celebrate.
There is still a lot of work ahead for Brazil, both for the team and the nation as a whole. Winning today is certainly a step in the right direction and hopefully it will give the people something to believe in.
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