The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup begins on Saturday, with LA Galaxy star Giovani dos Santos set to lead the charge for Mexico as they take on some of the top teams in the world in Russia.
Dos Santos won’t be the only MLS player competing in Russia, however. San Jose Earthquakes defender Kip Colvey will suit up for New Zealand at the tournament, while Montreal’s Ambroise Oyongo was named to Cameroon’s squad before suffering a ruptured patella tendon over the weekend that will keep him out for the remainder of 2017.
Just what is the Confederations Cup? More info on the quadrennial tournament is below:
How it works
Held the summer before each World Cup in the World Cup host country, the Confederations Cup is an eight-team tournament pitting the champions from each continent, previous World Cup winner and host country against each other.
The tournament format is familiar to any follower of the beautiful game. The eight teams are divided into two groups of four for a three-game, round-robin group stage. The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, with the winners meeting in the tournament final.
Groups
Hosts Russia, 2014 World Cup champions Germany and continental champions Mexico, Portugal, Chile, Cameroon, Australia and New Zealand make up the field for the 2017 Confederations Cup.
Here’s how the groups shook out:
Group A
Mexico
New Zealand
Portugal
Russia
Group B
Australia
Cameroon
Chile
Germany
Schedule
Group Stage
Saturday, June 17
Russia vs. New Zealand
Krestovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg
11 am ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Sunday, June 18
Portugal vs. Mexico
Kazan Arena, Kazan
11 am ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Cameroon vs. Chile
Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow
2 pm ET, FS2 and Telemundo in the US
Monday, June 19
Australia vs. Germany
Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
11 am ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Wednesday, June 21
Russia vs. Portugal
Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow
11 am ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Mexico vs. New Zealand
Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
2 pm ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Thursday, June 22
Cameroon vs. Australia
Krestovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg
11 am ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Germany vs. Chile
Kazan Arena, Kazan
2 pm ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Saturday, June 24
Mexico vs. Russia
Kazan Arena, Kazan
11 am ET, FOX and Telemundo in the US
New Zealand vs. Portugal
Krestovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg
11 am ET, FS1 and NBCU in the US
Sunday, June 25
Germany vs. Cameroon
Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
11 am ET, FOX and NBCU in the US
Chile vs. Australia
Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow
11 am ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Knockout Round
Wednesday, June 28
Semifinal 1 – Winner Group A vs. Runner-up Group B
Kazan Arena, Kazan
2 pm ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Thursday, June 29
Semifinal 2 – Winner Group B vs. Runner-up Group A
Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
2 pm ET, FS2 and Telemundo in the US
Sunday, July 2
Third-Place Game
Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow
8 am ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Final
Krestovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg
2 pm ET, FS1 and Telemundo in the US
Past champions
1992 – Argentina
1995 – Denmark
1997 – Brazil
1999 – Mexico
2001 – France
2003 – France
2005 – Brazil
2009 – Brazil
2013 – Brazil
US/Canada Confederations Cup history
Canada have never played in a Confederations Cup, while the US have made four appearances in the tournament, participating in 1992, 1999, 2003 and 2009. The Americans have been largely successful in the tournament, with their best finish coming in 2009 in South Africa, when they upset Spain the semifinals before losing a heartbreaker to four-time champion Brazil in the final. The USMNT finished third at the 1992 and 1999 tournaments, but finished last in their group in 2003.
