SAO PAULO: The coach of Spain's world champions on Friday insisted hosts Brazil are the team to beat at next year's Confederations Cup, the testbed for a World Cup also on Brazilian soil in 2014.
"They are the team to beat," said Vicente del Bosque, who masterminded Spain's World Cup success in 2010 in South Africa and then led the Furia Roja to glory at Euro 2012, making his star-studded side the first national team to land three straight international tournaments having also won Euro 2008.
"Friendlies or competitive matches - we will always look to perform at the highest level," said former Real Madrid coach del Bosque, who said he would be aiming to field his strongest side in Brazil next June even though the tournament is a chance to blood some new faces before the World Cup.
"This is a big challenge after our World Cup and Euro successes - we find ourselves in a historic period for Spanish football and we want to continue in this vein at the Confederations Cup and also qualifiers thereafter for 2014," said del Bosque at a press conference in Sao Paulo.
Del Bosque said the Spanish recipe was nothing out of the ordinary but rather "a balance between talent, technique and tactics."
The 61-year-old is on a personal mission next June to do better than the 2009 Confederations Cup which saw Spain take a disappointing third place in South Africa before they returned a year later to win the world title.
"That left a bad taste - so we shall come here next year as well prepared as possible."
Brazil's newly-reappointed coach Luiz Felipe Scolari meanwhile said he would use the tournament to "prepare 90 to 100 percent of the squad" for the World Cup.
The 2002 World Cup winner added: "The Confederations Cup will give us a good indication of the tactical changes we need to make, the changes we need to make on the playing side."
Answering fears in the media that the side bequeathed him by the sacked Mano Menezes lacks experience Scolari was sanguine.
"Young players such as Neymar do not have experience of a World Cup but the young players can surmount this lack of (tournament) experience. We shall have more after the Confederations Cup," where Brazil are the defending champions.
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said he wants to blood young players at the World Cup dress rehearsal.
But he must take into account the requirements of the Under-21 side.
"We have interesting young players, (and) we must decide who we take with us to the Confederations Cup, given that the Under-21 European Championships are also on next summer," said Prandelli.
Euro 2012 finalists Italy are in the Confederations event as European representatives with Spain also present by dint of their world champion status.
Italy already know they will face the hosts as they cannot face Spain and the Brazilians cannot face South American champions Uruguay.
Also competing are Asian champions Japan and Oceania champions - and ultra minnows - Tahiti, as well as Mexico and whoever wins the January 19-February 10 Africa Cup of Nations.
Japan are coached by Italian Alberto Zaccheroni, who led the Blue Samurai to a fourth Asian Cup title in Qatar last year.
"We have faced off with Asian teams on our continent and we understand where our strengths and weaknesses are. Now we hope to show the power of Asian football," said Zaccheroni, 59.
Japan's best showing at the Confederations Cup in four appearances was when they finished runners-up to France in 2001 at Yokohama.
Tahiti coach Eddy Etaeta says his side will look to acquit themselves respectably.
"We are just a small country going up against seven world names," said Etaeta, who confessed: "I think our players are now not really quite aware what we face" as they take on the cream of the international game.
The draw for the 2013 competition takes place in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
-AFP/ac
Football: Del Bosque says Brazil the team to beat
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Football: Del Bosque says Brazil the team to beat
