In-form Spain head trio of Confed. Cup favourites

Record-breaking European champions Spain head a trio of serious contenders for next year's World Cup who are afforded the rare chance of a dress rehearsal in the upcoming Confederations Cup.

Spain, Brazil and world champions Italy will be the favourites at the two-week tournament and will get the opportunity to experience South African conditions 12 months before the 2010 World Cup finals.

The eight-team Confederations Cup, which starts tomorrow, serves as a test event for next year. The field is made up of the champions of the six continental confederations plus the last World Cup winners and the 2010 host nation.

A 6-0 win over Azerbaijan in a friendly on Tuesday marked a record-breaking 32 consecutive matches without defeat for Spain, who are top of the world rankings. They will now seek to extend that run in the Confederations Cup.

"It is a great chance to have all the players together in unusual conditions and as European champions we have a reputation to defend," said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.

Spain meet New Zealand in their first Group A game tomorrow, preceded by the opening game between South Africa and Asian champions Iraq.

The 2010 hosts are desperate for a morale-boosting set of performances, having slumped drastically in form over the last years.

"I need more time with this team," South Africa's Brazil-born coach Joel Santana said after a warm-up win over Poland last week.

"But I'm happy with their concentration; we have now begun to show progress."

Brazil and Italy are both in Group B, with Egypt and the United States having the potential to play a spoiling role.

Brazil, who won the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany, made the exhausting cross-continental trip a few days before their opening game against Egypt on Monday because of their World Cup qualifier against Paraguay on Wednesday.

Italy, in contrast, will have been in South Africa for seven days, and played two warm-up matches, by the time they start against the Americans on Monday.

Officials have been at pains in recent weeks to sell the Confederations Cup as a credible, stand-alone event, though their stance is at odds with FIFA's decision to turn the tournament into a World Cup test event.

Slow ticket sales for the Confederations Cup present a potential embarrassment to the 2010 hosts, who have sought help from South African companies to block-buy seats and pass them on to employees or customers.

Previous tournaments

2005: 16 matches - 56 goals
1. Brazil, 2. Argentina, 3. Germany (hosts), 4. Mexico, 5. Japan, 6. Tunisia, 7. Greece, 8. Australia.

Average attendance: 37,694.

2003: 16 matches - 37 goals
1. France (hosts), 2. Cameroon, 3. Turkey, 4. Colombia, 5. Brazil, 6. Japan, 7. United States, 8. New Zealand.

Average attendance: 30,731.

2001: 16 matches - 31 goals
1. France, 2. Japan (co-hosts), 3. Australia, 4. Brazil, 5. South Korea (co-hosts), 6. Cameroon, 7. Canada, 8. Mexico.

Average attendance: 34,824.

1999: 16 matches - 55 goals
1. Mexico (hosts), 2. Brazil, 3. United States, 4. Saudi Arabia, 5. Germany, 6. Bolivia, 7. Egypt, 8. New Zealand.

Average attendance: 60,625.

1997: 16 matches - 52 goals
1. Brazil, 2. Australia, 3. Czech Republic, 4. Uruguay, 5. Mexico, 6. UAE, 7. Saudi Arabia (hosts), 8. South Africa.

Average attendance: 20,844.