2013 Confederations Cup: Brazil vs Japan: Live Open Thread

Can you believe that it's only been two weeks since Barcelona played their last match of the 2012-13 season? At least for me, these two weeks have felt like an eternity -- which is probably why I'm looking forward to this summer's Confederations Cup so much. It's a chance to see the bulk of Barcelona's starting XI turn out for Spain, and it's also a chance to assess Neymar's talent. This is technically competitive football after all -- and as such, it is probably one of Neymar's first truly "competitive" matches of 2013. How will he fare? Will he take over the tournament and inspire Brazil to victory, or will he have a quiet summer? Only time will tell, but a good performance here tonight against Japan certainly wouldn't go amiss -- remember, Neymar scored twice the last time these two sides met.

Line-Ups:

Brazil (4-2-3-1): Júlio César; Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo; Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho; Oscar, Neymar, Hulk; Fred

Japan (4-2-3-1): Eiji Kawashima, Yuto Nagatomo, Yasuyuki Konno, Maya Yoshida, Atsuto Uchida, Yasuhito Endo, Makoto Hasebe, Hiroshi Kiyotake, Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda, Shinji Okazaki.