Uruguay Eliminates Tahiti 8-0, Lands Semi-Finals Spot

Uruguay secured itself a slot in the semi-finals after railroading Tahiti 8-0 today. 

It was the third straight loss for the 2012 OFC Nations Cup winners, who will go home as the bottom-ranked team in Group B and the entire competition. Tahiti had previously lost to Nigeria 1-6 and Spain 0-10.

Of Uruguay’s eight goals, four were made by Abel Hernandez. The 22-year-old striker wasted no time as he struck a Nicolas Lodeiro corner within the first two minutes of the game. Around twenty minutes later, Hernandez got past Gilbert Meriel’s defense for Uruguay’s second goal, and Diego Perez chipped in the third goal not long afterwards. By the 45^th minute, Hernandez made Uruguay’s fourth goal.

Lodeiro made a shot at close range within the first 10 minutes of the second half. At the 67^th minute mark, Hernandez took advantage of a penalty to make his fourth and final goal for the match. Substitute Luis Suarez rounded up Uruguay’s goals in the 81^st and 89^th minutes.

For Tahiti, the large gap in experience between them and the other teams was their undoing. “The hard reality is that there is an abyss between professional football and our amateurs,” laments Tahiti manager Eddy Etaeta. “But in spite of the losses and the goals we kept playing fairly and I must thank my players who were wonderful.”

Uruguay will battle Brazil on June 26 in Belo Horizonte. Should Uruguay win that match, they will go against either Spain or Italy on June 30 for the finals.

 Photo credit: Jimmy Baikovicius from Montevideo, Uruguay [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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Spain Scores Record Breaking Win Over Tahiti

Estadio Do  Maracana saw the World Cup titleholder, Spain lambasted the brave Tahiti with an all-time high 10-0 win last Thursday. The victory earned the football giants a spot on the semis and a world record.

The Spaniards was off to a scoring rage during the match. Fernando Torres missed a penalty, but scored four (4). Davild Villa mad a hat-trick, while David Silva had two (2) and Juan Mata scored a goal.

Nevertheless, Tahiti unleashed a good fight in the second half and even managed to come up with several saves.

La Furia Roja’s performance is the biggest victory ever made in any FIFA tournament. The previous record belonged to Brazil, which thrashed Saudi Arabia with an 8-2 win in 1999. This was not the first time that Spain pulled off a wide victory gap against its opponent. In 1933, the squad trampled Bulgaria with a 13-0 win.

Meanwhile, despite of Spain’s record-breaking feat, Team Fenua remained as crowd favorites. Brazilian spectators cheered for the minnows while the power team was welcomed with taunts and jeers, much to the delight of Team Fenua’s boss, Eddy Etaeta.

Etaeta expressed his team’s disappointment for not scoring. Nevertheless, he stressed that their loss became more meaningful since they “won the hearts of the Brazilian republic.” He added that the team is now more popular in Brazil than in its own territory.

Prior to match, Team Fenua gave lei garlands to their opponents as a sign of friendship and respect.  Tahiti will soon meet Uruguay in Recife.



Photo Credits: Zimbio

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Tahiti Steals The Limelight During Nigeria’s 6-1 Victory

Nigeria claimed its first victory in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup as they ravaged Tahiti with a 6-1 triumph in Belo Horizonte last 18 June 2013.

In one of the Confederations Cup’s finest moments, Nnamdi Oduamadi raked a hat trick for the Super Eagles. Nevertheless, it was Jonathan Tehau’s historic shot that highlighted the match.

Tehau, scored Team Fenua’s first goal in the said tournament. The memorable header came during the 54th minute and the minnows’ refusal to throw in the white towel was more than enough to set the whole crowd roar in awe.

Tahiti is literally a new player in the tournament. With the Oceania trophy under its belt, the squad earned its spot in the Confederations Cup. The team that was only watched by a hundred of people was welcomed with a warm celebration by millions.

Euphoric, indeed, it was a euphoric encounter for Team Fenua. The goal shone a glimmer of hope for the underdogs. As stated by team captain Nicolas Vallar, the squad never expected to pull off a great show against Spain, however, the goal against Nigeria boosted the team’s morale.

On the other hand, Nigeria’s big boss, Stephen Keshi was also impressed by Tahiti’s performance. Keshi acknowledged the great fight exemplified by the team. He stressed that while it is true that Nigeria had the advantage, Team Fenua fought like “lions” and that they are a strong force to reckon with.

After the battle against Nigeria, Tahiti is set to meet the World Cup Champions, Spain.



Photo Credit: Zimbio

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Match Preview: Tahiti VS. Nigeria, Confederations Cup

Date: 18 June 2013
Venue: Estadio Minerao
Prediction: Nigeria Wins First Confederations Cup Battle


Experience will play a major part in the Super Eagles’ impending win against Team Fenua this 18 June 2013 at Estadio Minerao.

Nigeria surprised everybody when it won the Africa Cup of Nation this January. Currently, the Super Eagles has the momentum. They’ve shown it in the World Cup Qualifiers where the hold the top spot of Group F. Needless to say, this momentum will most likely continue in the Confederations Cup.

On the other hand, Tahiti also has its share of victorious moments to talk about. Team Fenua was last year’s Oceania Nations Cup champs. But still, this is not at par with what Nigeria went through and has to go through.

Nigeria’s qualifier encounters prepared them for the match. As for the case of Tahiti, they arrived first in Brazil, but they don’t have that friendly battles to warm them up for the big fight.

Despite of the fact that the Super Eagles will be enduring a battle fatigue when they arrive at Brazil, this neither gives Team Fenua the advantage. Just recently, Stephen Keshi made a drastic change in its starting XI. For the Confederations Cup, Keshi shall be including four (4) uncapped players in the match.

The above-mentioned move is enough to give the Super Eagles a fresh leg in the tournament. Not only that, it gives balance to the team. The uncapped players shall yield the team’s physical strength while the veterans, packed with talent and skill, shall ensure their victory. Although, this is more likely perceived as Keshi’s way of preserving his men for the battle against Namibia, this is nonetheless, a formidable approach than throwing the white towel.

Nigeria stands as favorites in this match, there’s no question about it. As a matter of fact, even in online bookies, Asian handicaps are already given to Tahiti.

Photo Credit: Connect Nigeria

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A Peek at the Confederations Cup Match Between Spain and Tahiti

It may sound like a harsh and unfair assessment, but it’s quite clear in this June 20 match-up who’s the favorite and who’s the underdog.

Tahiti qualified for the 2013 Confederations Cup by virtue of being the 2012 Oceania Cup winner. They managed to win five straight matches and clinch a victory over New Caledonia in the finals. However, they’re out of the running for the 2014 World Cup, as they only won one game (2-0 against the Solomon Islands) in the qualifiers. Tahiti would need to work on cranking out a consistent winning performance against New Caledonia and New Zealand, among others, if it can truly be considered a good opponent against Spain.

Spain, on the other hand, has the psychological advantage over Tahiti, and possibly over every opponent it will encounter this year. The Spaniards hold both the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euro Cup championships, and it hasn’t lost any of its last five matches: 5-1 against Panama, 3-1 against Uruguay, 1-1 against Finland, 1-0 against France, and 2-1 against Haiti. Even legendary ex-striker Ronaldo bets that Spain will win over his native Brazil in this year’s Confederations Cup.

The best thing Tahiti can hope for in this match-up is that it will be a great learning experience for them. The home-grown players have likely never seen action outside Oceania, and the foreign environment provided by Brazilian stadiums can prove disorienting for them. Still, the likes of Lorenzo Tehau, Stephance Taatiaru, Raimana Lee Fung Kuee, Xavier Samin, and Axel Williams should do their best not to let Coach Eddy Etaeta down. 

Photo credit: Football.ua [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

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