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Who competes in the Confederations Cup?

By Dan Voicescu

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JUNE 30: David Luiz of Brazil poses with the trophy at the end of the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 Final match between Brazil and Spain at Maracana on June 30, 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JUNE 30: David Luiz of Brazil poses with the trophy at the end of the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 Final match between Brazil and Spain at Maracana on June 30, 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images) /
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With the 2017 Confederations Cup set to kick off on Saturday, June 17 in Saint Petersburg, we take a look at this year’s participants.

Each summer prior to the World Cup, the Confederations Cup brings together the six continental champions, along with the prior World Cup champions and the host country. Considered a dress-rehearsal for the following year’s World Cup, the Confederation’s Cup provides a sneak peek at the venues, and it gives the qualified nations a preview of the facilities and atmosphere they can expect during the next year’s World Cup. The Confederations Cup also provides the host country a level of official competition following a two year hiatus from official (non-friendly) matches.

Below is the list of this year’s Confederations Cup participants and how they qualified.

Russia – Host country

Germany – 2014 World Cup Winners

Portugal – 2016 European Champions

Chile – 2015 CONMEBOL Champions

New Zealand – 2016 Oceania Football Confederation Champions

Cameroon –  2017 African Cup of Nations Winners

Mexico – 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Winners

Australia – 2015 AFC Asian Cup Winners

The eight teams above were drawn into two separate groups of four. During the group of four each team plays the other three teams in their group, round-robin style, with the top two teams in each group moving on to the semifinal stage.

Here is how the eight teams were drawn out in to two groups of four:

Group A

Russia

New Zealand

Portugal

Mexico

Group B

Cameroon

Chile

Australia

Germany

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The groups stage games will take place from June 17 through June 25. Following a three-day break the two semifinals are played on June 28 and June 29. The Final is set for July 2nd in Moscow. Excluding the Gold Cup, the Confederations Cup is the only major summer tournament at the national team level. With plenty of intriguing talent on display, these eight countries should provide enough entertainment and give their fans a good idea of how well they might fare at next year’s World Cup.

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