It's now less than a year until the FIFA World Cup will be underway in Russia and this Saturday we'll be getting our first taste-tester of what the tournament might offer. You can find every game in the Confederations Cup on TV as it brings the World and Continental Champions together to battle it out and showcase various 2018 host cities.
Why Should We Bother Tuning In?
The more lax version of the Cup tends to throw up some brilliant games, Brazil picked up the trophy in 2013 beating Italy 4-2 and Uruguay 2-1 before beating then World Champions Spain 3-0 in the final, they just couldn't handle top scorer Fred.
That tournament was also the first real glimpse the world got of Neymar as he had only just signed for Barcelona the month before, and the Confederations Cup this year may just showcase the next batch of football's outstanding players.
The tournament in Brazil also threw up this neutral gem between Italy and Japan while in the 1997 tournament Roberto Carlos scored one of the most memorable free-kicks in football history against France.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ECoR__tJNQ
Who is competing this year?
The tournament is made up of the world cup hosts, every continental champion, and the world champions. The teams are split into two groups of four teams with the top two going through to the semi-finals.
This year's entrants are:
Group A
Russia (host nation)
New Zealand (Oceania Champions)
Portugal (European Champions)
Mexico (North American Champions)
Group B
Cameroon (African Champions)
Chile (South American Champions)
Germany (World Champions)
Australia (Asian Champions)
When Are The Games And Where Can I Watch Them?
Every single game is going to be on RTE2, The RTE player, and ITV. And you can read the full list of fixtures here:
Group stages
17 June
Russia v New Zealand 4pm
18 June
Portugal v Mexico 4pm
Cameroon v Chile 7pm
Australia v Germany 4pm
21 June
Russia v Portugal 4pm
Mexico v New Zealand 7pm
22 June
Cameroon v Australia 4pm
Germany v Chile 7pm
24 June
Mexico v Russia 4pm
New Zealand v Portugal 7pm
Germany v Cameroon 4pm
Chile v Australia 7pm
Semi-finals
28 June
Winner Group A v Runner-Up Group B 7pm
29 June
Winner Group B v Runner-Up Group A 7pm
Third place play-off
2 July
Moscow 3pm
Final
2 July
St. Petersburg 7pm
Who Are The Favourites?
The three front runners are Germany (9/4), Portugal (5/2) and Chile (11/4) with the rest of the pack being a bit further out. Hosts Russia are an ambitious 8/1 given they only managed a single point at the Euros in France while New Zealand are the least fancied team of the bunch at 250/1.
