The Confederations Cup is in full swing now in South Africa and after a fairly slow start the tournament has got into full swing.  The group stages are now over and the two semi-finals feature USA Vs Spain and Brazil Vs South Africa.  It is a bit of a weird tournament in all fairness, to qualify you have to win a FIFA Confederation Championship (such as the Copa America or European Championship) or the World Cup or be the host country of the next World Cup.  It is a bit of a rehearsal for the nation who will host the World Cup and so far the South Africans are doing a decent job, which should set us up nicely for an excellent tournament in 2010.

The moment of the tournament so far has to be the USA’s victory over Egypt.  The Americans needed to win and overturn a six goal deficit after losing their opening games to Brazil and Italy.  Their 3-0 victory over Egypt coupled with Brazil’s 3-0 defeat of Italy meant the USA went through to the semi-final at the expense of the Italians.  The deciding goal came courtesy of Clint Dempsey, of Premier League side Fulham, who rose to meet an inch-perfect cross from Jonathan Spector in the 71st minute with a powerful header.

Spain are the favourites to win with the Confederations Cup betting odds and they’re yet to concede a goal.  They’ve also picked up the record for most consecutive international victories, their record-breaking and fifteenth consecutive win came against South Africa with the score 2-0 to the Spanish.  Assuming they don’t lose their semi-final against the USA they will have also beaten Brazil’s record for the longest unbeaten run, Brazil and Spain are currently tied on 35.

South Africa managed to progress to the semi-final thanks to a victory over New Zealand and a goal less draw with Iraq.  From what I’ve seen of the teams so far they’re the weakest left in the competition and I doubt many will be betting on them getting past Brazil.  The Brazilians are starting to get into their stride now and they made Italy look distinctly average in their 3-0 victory.

With everything taken into consideration we should have a final contested by Brazil and Spain, unless there is a major upset, and that should be an exceptional tie.  For me (and probably most people) these sides are the best teams in international football and it could be a pulsating encounter.  The Brazilians have perhaps looked the better team so far and have played some decent flowing football.  Spain on the other hand are so well organised and hard to break down and it will be tricky for Brazil to get through.  I think Spain might just edge it personally, they may be missing the ever influential Andres Iniesta but they still have plenty of quality.  Before all that can happen though, the Spanish will have to get past the USA on June 24 and Brazil will have to defeat host-nation South Africa on June 25.

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The summer is always a difficult time for the ‘football addict’ such as myself. Saturday afternoons that used to be solely focused on the beautiful game now feature such activities as shopping with my girlfriend and general household chores etc – very boring indeed. Hurrah then for the European Under 21 Championships which at least gives me two weeks of football to enjoy while I wait for the new season to begin.

There are just two groups in the under-21 tournament, Group A has sees Belarus, Italy, Serbia and the hosts Sweden battle it out while Group B is a bit of a ‘group of death’ with England, Finland, Germany and Spain all drawn together. The top two go through to a semi final stage with the final taking place on June 29.

Sweden also looks to be a good place for the competition to take place. The cooler climate will keep the games flowing, rather than players being dead on their feet at the end, and the organisers seem to have done a good job. The Finnish took a lot of support as it is a bit of a success for their youngsters to make it to the competition at all, with current holders Holland missing out on qualification altogether. The Swedish team will obviously also be well supported and the stadiums, though small, should be packed for most fixtures.

To be honest the opening game on Monday June 15 was hardly a game for the purists. England defeated Finland 2-1 but were reduced to 10 men when Chelsea’s Michael Mancienne hauled down Finland’s Berat Sadik to give the Finnish a penalty. England’s squad features some already proven Premier League players such as Mark Noble (West Ham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton wanderers) and Gabby Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) so it is worth watching them and they’re quite rightly among the favourites to win the competition.

However, I quite enjoy picking out players who you may have heard less about. Some great players have competed in the tournament in the past such as Andrea Pirlo and Davor Suker and there will certainly be a few stars of the future on display. In the Finnish team I noticed Sadik, a 22-year-old striker currently with German side Arminia Bielefeld and Tim Sparv, a midfielder who was at one time with Southampton. Both of these players performed admirably against players who regularly play Premier League football and at times they seemed to be running the show. The Serbian team also has a lot of promising talent in their team and it will be interesting to see what the next generation of Spanish footballers is like.

So for the next two weeks I’ve got the under-21s to keep my habit going, and the Confederations Cup in South Africa, but come June 25 it will be back to scrambling through the websites for transfer rumours and trips to shopping centres until the new season kicks off.

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OK, so my title may be a bit misleading. The two sides will meet on Monday May 25 for the Championship play-off final for the chance to play in the Premier League next season. In terms of financial reward there really is no greater prize in world football, with the winner set for a £40million+ windfall and the chance to take on Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and the rest of the Premier League’s big boys.

Play-off finals are always great occasions, for the winner and the neutral at least, and this one should be no different. Lancashire side Burnley have been a great side in the cup competitions this year and even upset the League Cup odds by knocking out Premiership heavyweights Chelsea, before suffering last minute heart-ache at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final. Burnley boss Owen Coyle knows all about play-off finals, he was on the winning Bolton Wanderers side way back in 1994 when they came back from 2-0 down to defeat Reading in a truly great play-off final and I for one am hoping for similar exploits when Burnley and Sheffield United meet on Sunday.

Sheffield United did well to get past an in-form Preston side in their semi-final and should go into the game brimming with confidence. On paper they are perhaps the better side but when it gets to this stage that counts for very little. The Blades are still smarting from their Premier League relegation two years ago and have plans in place to ‘become a top ten Premier League side’ according to chairman Kevin McCabe anyway.

United boss Kevin Blackwell was in charge of Leeds United when they suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Watford in the 2006 play-off final and he won’t want to suffer the same heartache again. He will have all his players seriously buoyed up for this encounter, as will Coyle, and this will be a game well worth watching if you have the chance on Monday at 15.00 (GMT).

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This weekend the four teams who finished in the play-off positions in the Championship go head to head to play for the final place in the Premier League. The rewards on offer for the winner are phenomenal. Alongside the £30million+ they can expect to earn by playing in the Premier League they will also get the opportunity to face world class opposition week in, week out.

On Friday May 8 Preston face Sheffield United at Deepdale in what should prove to be a mouth watering affair. The Blades are unquestionably the better side in terms of quality and have plenty of players who have played at the top-level before but Preston are in a rich vein of form. The Lancashire side won their last three games in a row to nick the last play-off spot on the last day of the season. Preston also have the best home record in the league, winning 16 of their 23 fixtures at Deepdale this season. However, Sheffield United are no pushovers away from Bramall Lane and both sides will fancy their chances.

The second-leg between these two takes place on May 11 and should be just as exciting, if not more so. Preston don’t travel well and have only won five games on the road this season. However, they won two of those five in their last four games and even picked up a result at second-placed Birmingham City so they’re definitely the form side going into the play-offs. As I said earlier, I believe the Blades to be the better side but because of Preston’s current form I think they might just edge the tie and upset the football odds in the process.

The other two sides involved are Burnley and Reading, with the first leg taking place at Burnley’s Turf Moor stadium on May 9. For me Reading have the best squad in the Championship and looked a safe football bet for automatic promotion for the majority of the season. However, their form dipped and they missed out on a place in the top two and now have to contend with the lottery of the play-offs.

Under manager Owen Coyle Burnley have become a decent side and have played some slick attacking football this season. They went on impressive FA Cup and League Cup runs this season and knocked Chelsea out of the latter competition this season. As a player Coyle enjoyed play-off success with Bolton Wanderers and will know exactly what it takes to be successful in the play-offs. This tie is a little harder for me to call, but due to Reading’s form I’m going to side with Burnley and suggest we’ll see a North-West derby for the play-off final itself.

Whatever happens one thing is for certain, the play-offs always produce some thrilling ties and are well worth tuning in for. With the stakes so high we are bound to see some enthralling encounters as the players play for the right to ply their trade in the Premier League.

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