FIFA Confederations Cup

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FIFA Confederations Cup
Confed trophy.png
The trophy awarded to champions
Organising body FIFA
Founded1992
Abolished2017;7 years ago (2017)
RegionInternational
Number of teams8 (from 6 confederations)
Last championsFlag of Germany.svg  Germany (1st title)
Most successful team(s)Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil (4 titles)
Website fifa.com/confederationscup

The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA), along with the current FIFA World Cup holder and the host nation, to bring the number of teams up to eight.

Contents

Between 2001 and 2017 (with an exception in 2003), the tournament was held in the country that would host the World Cup the following year, acting as a test event for the larger tournament.

The last champions were Germany, who won the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup by defeating Chile 1–0 in the final to win their first title.

In March 2019, FIFA confirmed that the tournament would no longer be staged, with its slot replaced by an expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup, as well as the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, as a prelude to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. [1] [2]

History

King Fahd Cup

The tournament was originally organized by and held in Saudi Arabia, contested in 1992 and 1995 by the Saudi national side and some continental champions. Disputed as the King Fahd Cup (Confederations Winners Cup or Intercontinental Championship), it was named in honor of the then Saudi ruler who organized the tournament with the help of his country's federation. [3]

Confederations Cup era

In 1997, FIFA took over the organization of the tournament, named it the FIFA Confederations Cup and staged the competition every two years and recognized the first two editions in 1997. [4]

Germany (red shirt) v Brazil at the Frankenstadion, 2005 Deutschland - Brasilien (Confed-Cup) 5.JPG
Germany (red shirt) v Brazil at the Frankenstadion, 2005

After 2005, it was held every four years, in the year prior to each World Cup in the host country of the forthcoming World Cup (the 2001 edition was hosted in South Korea and Japan, before the quadrennial pattern was established). Considered a dress rehearsal for the World Cup it precedes, it used around half of the stadiums intended for use at the following year's competition and gave the host nation, which qualified for that tournament automatically, experience at a high level of competition during the two years. At the same time, participation was made optional for the South American and European champions. [5]

Generally, the host nation, the World Cup holders, and the six continental champions qualified for the competition. In those cases where a team meets more than one of the qualification criteria (such as the 2001 tournament where France qualified as the World Cup champions and European champions), another team was invited to participate, often the runner-up in a competition that the extra-qualified team won.[ citation needed ]

On four occasions teams have chosen not to participate in the tournament. Germany did so twice, in 1997 (replaced by Euro 1996 runners-up Czech Republic) and in 2003 when Germany were awarded a place as the 2002 World Cup runners-up, replaced by the third-placed team Turkey. World champions France declined a place in the 1999 Confederations Cup, replaced by Brazil, the 1998 World Cup runners-up. Italy, UEFA Euro 2000 runners up, declined their place in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup.[ citation needed ]

Spain v Tahiti in 2013 Spain-Tahiti, Confederations Cup 2013 (06).jpg
Spain v Tahiti in 2013

An earlier tournament that invited former World Cup winners, the 1980 Mundialito, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the first World Cup. The Artemio Franchi Trophy, contested in 1985 and 1993 between the winners of the Copa América and UEFA European Championship, was another example of an earlier contest between football confederations. Both of these are considered by some to be a form of unofficial precursor to the Confederations Cup, although FIFA recognised only the 1992 tournaments onwards to be Confederations Cup winners. [6]

2021 tournament and abolition

The 2021 tournament was originally to be held in Qatar, the host country of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as announced on 2 December 2010 after the country was awarded the hosting rights of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, concerns arose surrounding Qatar's high temperatures during the summer period (which also led to calls for the World Cup to be moved from its traditional June–July scheduling to November–December). [7]

On 25 February 2015, this resulted in FIFA officially announcing that it would move the 2021 Confederations Cup to another country of the Asian Football Confederation, so it could still be held during the traditional window of June/July 2021, without interrupting domestic leagues. As compensation, another FIFA tournament, potentially the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, could be held in Qatar in November–December 2021, as the test event for the 2022 World Cup. [8] [9]

In October 2017, FIFA divulged plans to abolish the Confederations Cup by 2021 and replace it with a quadrennial, 24-team FIFA Club World Cup and move the latter tournament from December to June. [10] On 15 March 2019, FIFA announced that the Confederations Cup would be abolished, with an expanded FIFA Club World Cup taking place instead. [1]

Present

In July 2021, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin and CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez began efforts to launch a competition including the winners of the Copa America and the European Championship. The idea is to have the European Championship and Copa America both be played two years ahead of the World Cup, with the new tournament played a year before the World Cup in the nation that will host the World Cup. An edition of the tournament was considered for 2022, and on 1 June 2022, Argentina beat Italy in the 2022 Finalissima, a relaunch of the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions. [11]

Format

The eight qualified teams were drawn into two round-robin groups: two teams from the same confederation could not be drawn in a group, except if there were three teams from the same confederation (something that only happened in the 2017 edition when hosts Russia were joined by World Cup champions Germany and European champions Portugal). Every team played all other teams in their group once, for three matches.

The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals, with the winners of each group playing the runners-up of the other group. The rankings of teams in each group were determined as follows (regulations Article 19.6):

  1. points obtained in all group matches;
  2. goal difference in all group matches;
  3. number of goals scored in all group matches;

If two or more teams were equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings were determined as follows:

  1. points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  2. goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  3. number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  4. fair play points
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point;
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points;
    • direct red card: minus 4 points;
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points;
  5. drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.

The winners of the semi-finals advanced to the final, while the losers played in the third-place game. For the knockout stage, if the score was drawn at the end of regular time, extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.

Results

FIFA Confederations Cup

The first two editions were in fact the defunct King Fahd Cup. FIFA later recognized them retroactively as Confederations Cup editions. [12]

Ed.YearHostFirst place gameThird place gameNo. of
Teams
Gold medal icon.svg ChampionsScoreSilver medal icon.svg Runners-upBronze medal icon.svg Third placeScoreFourth place
1 1992 Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia Flag of Argentina.svg
Argentina
3–1 Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg
Saudi Arabia
Flag of the United States.svg
United States
5–2 Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg
Ivory Coast
4
2 1995 Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia Flag of Denmark.svg
Denmark
2–0 Flag of Argentina.svg
Argentina
Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
1–1 ( a.e.t. )
(5–4 p)
Flag of Nigeria.svg
Nigeria
6
3 1997 Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia Flag of Brazil.svg
Brazil
6–0 Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg
Czech Republic
1–0 Flag of Uruguay.svg
Uruguay
8
4 1999 Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
4–3 Flag of Brazil.svg
Brazil
Flag of the United States.svg
United States
2–0 Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg
Saudi Arabia
8
5 2001 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg
France
1–0 Flag of Japan.svg
Japan
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
1–0 Flag of Brazil.svg
Brazil
8
6 2003 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France Flag of France (lighter variant).svg
France
1–0 (a.e.t./g.g.)Flag of Cameroon.svg
Cameroon
Flag of Turkey.svg
Turkey
2–1 Flag of Colombia.svg
Colombia
8
7 2005 Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Flag of Brazil.svg
Brazil
4–1 Flag of Argentina.svg
Argentina
Flag of Germany.svg
Germany
4–3 ( a.e.t. )Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
8
8 2009 Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Flag of Brazil.svg
Brazil
3–2 Flag of the United States.svg
United States
Flag of Spain.svg
Spain
3–2 ( a.e.t. )Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
8
9 2013 Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of Brazil.svg
Brazil
3–0 Flag of Spain.svg
Spain
Flag of Italy.svg
Italy
2–2 ( a.e.t. )
(3–2 p)
Flag of Uruguay.svg
Uruguay
8
10 2017 Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Flag of Germany.svg
Germany
1–0 Flag of Chile.svg
Chile
Flag of Portugal.svg
Portugal
2–1 ( a.e.t. )Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
8

Teams reaching the top four

TeamTitlesRunners-upThird PlaceFourth Place
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 4 (1997, 2005, 2009, 2013 *)1 (1999)1 (2001)
Flag of France.svg  France 2 (2001, 2003 *)
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 1 (1992)2 (1995, 2005)
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 1 (1999 *)1 (1995)2 (2005, 2017)
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1 (2017)1 (2005 *)
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 1 (1995)
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1 (2009)2 (1992, 1999)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1 (1997)1 (2001)
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1 (2013)1 (2009)
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 1 (1992 *)1 (1999)
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1 (2001 *)
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 1 (2003)
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 1 (2017)
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 1 (1997)
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 1 (2003)
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1 (2013)
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 1 (2017)
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 2 (1997, 2013)
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 1 (1992)
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 1 (1995)
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 1 (2003)
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 1 (2009 *)
* hosts

Records and statistics

Individual records

Manager

Top goalscorer in single tournament

7 goals, Romário of Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil in 1997 [13]

Overall top goalscorers

PlayerCountryGoals
Ronaldinho Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 9
Cuauhtémoc Blanco Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Fernando Torres Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 8
Adriano Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 7
Romário Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Marzouk Al-Otaibi Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 6
David Villa Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
Alex Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 5
John Aloisi Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Luís Fabiano Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Fred Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Robert Pires Flag of France.svg  France
Vladimír Šmicer Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic

Awards

TournamentGolden BallGolden BootGoalsGolden GloveFIFA Fair Play Trophy
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg 1992 Flag of Argentina.svg Fernando Redondo Flag of Argentina.svg Gabriel Batistuta

Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Murray

2Not awardedNot awarded
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg 1995 Flag of Denmark.svg Brian Laudrup Flag of Mexico.svg Luis García 3
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg 1997 Flag of Brazil.svg Denílson Flag of Brazil.svg Romário 7Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
Flag of Mexico.svg 1999 Flag of Brazil.svg Ronaldinho Flag of Brazil.svg Ronaldinho 6Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg Flag of Japan.svg 2001 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Robert Pires Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Robert Pires 2Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg 2003 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Thierry Henry Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Thierry Henry 4Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Flag of Germany.svg 2005 Flag of Brazil.svg Adriano Flag of Brazil.svg Adriano 5 Flag of Mexico.svg Oswaldo Sánchez Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
Flag of South Africa.svg 2009 Flag of Brazil.svg Kaká Flag of Brazil.svg Luís Fabiano 5 Flag of the United States.svg Tim Howard Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Flag of Brazil.svg 2013 Flag of Brazil.svg Neymar Flag of Spain.svg Fernando Torres 5 Flag of Brazil.svg Júlio César Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
Flag of Russia.svg 2017 Flag of Germany.svg Julian Draxler Flag of Germany.svg Timo Werner 3 Flag of Chile.svg Claudio Bravo Flag of Germany.svg  Germany

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