Preview: The Confederations Cup

There's not a whole lot of football going on over the summer, but the Confederations Cup will fulfill all our needs for the next few weeks

The Confederations Cup will be a sort of warm up for the main event, which is the World Cup next summer, but it might be the first time we get to look at the fantastic new stadiums that have been built, as well as being able to feast our eyes on some of the best players on the planet. Spain, Uruguay, Tahiti, Nigeria, Brazil, Japan, Mexico and Italy are all taking part, and with more big names than you could shake a stick at. Obviously, some key teams to keep your eye on are going to be the big boys: Italy, Brazil and Spain, but Uruguay hold a pretty decent threat too. They qualify as Copa America champions, but their qualification campaign to make it back to Brazil in 2014 is not going too well. Luis Suarez has another summer of football to play, but as is usual with the magical Uruguayan, we can expect to see him really step up on a big stage. Luis Suarez will add bite to the Uruguayan attack If past tournaments are anything to go by, the mixture of big and small teams means that at some stage or another, there will be an upset, like in 2009 when the United States beat Spain, and the whole world sat up to take notice. For Brazil, this is also a decisive moment in their preparations. Luiz Felipe Scolari has come in at the helm, and this is the only competitive fixtures he will be in charge for before the World Cup itself in 2014. They will be taking this tournament seriously, and after a decent result against England and a good win against France, they might finally be hitting form at the right time. What they need to focus on, in particular, is the fact that they rely heavily on Neymar. They will take the opportunity in this tournament to try and find a 'Plan B'. Or at least, they should. Japan also always deliver when it comes to this tournament, and they'll probably have a decent bit of support in tow too, given that one of the largest Japanese communities in the world (outside of the country itself, obviously) is in Brazil, which could make quite a difference. The hosts will kick off against the Japanese on Sunday night, and will be one to watch for the atmosphere alone at the Mane Garrincha Stadium, which looks pretty slick.

Obviously, all eyes will be on Spain, and they looked in pretty good form against the Boys in Green on Tuesday night. They took their foot off the gas at stages, given that they've all had long seasons, but there's no reason to expect that they won't want to win this title, it being one of the only titles that has eluded this 'golden generation' for La Roja. Overall, any opportunity to see players like Cavani, Suarez, Neymar, Thiago Silva, Iniesta and Xavi all in one tournament, is one that we're not going to pass up.