Brazilian pros and cons

Those of us who have long been inclined to stress the first syllable in Confederations Cup have had our prejudices thoroughly challenged by the 2013 model.

Brazil, Spain and Italy have all treated the World Cup dress rehearsal as if it might as well be the real thing, while the 4-3 thriller in which the Azzurri drew on equal measures of resilience and good fortune to see off a wonderfully entertaining Japanese side was, by any definition of a football match, one for the ages.

Even the involvement of whipping boys Tahiti, which should only have accentuated the anticipated Mickey Mouse factor, was not without its moments of romance and modest heroism. By the end of their three games they had, it’s inescapably true, shipped a whopping 24 goals but, in always trying to play football, hanging in there as best they could and, along the way, even grabbing a goal against Nigeria and keeping out a penalty against Uruguay, the amateurs won over the local support and put a smile on the stoniest of faces.