Spain

Spanish. The rise of the Spanish national team could be seen from the rise of Barcelona players, especially La Masia players who was now playing in Barcelona. In midfield there were Iniesta and Xavi, two players who were key to Barcelona's glory in the Guardiola era. These two players were also the key to the Spanish national team succes in the 2010 World Cup. At the back there were Sergio Ramos and Pique. These two players used to be rivals in La Liga, but they were guarding the Spanish defense.

The semi-finals of the Confederations Cup begin. Japan, who got a draw against Brazil, had to face Spain, who was the winner in Group B. The pessimistic voices had been echoed by the media. Although Japan held Brazil to a draw, but that alone was not enough to make people believe that the Japanese team could beat Spain. This was natural because the quality of Spanish players were really far above Japan.