2010 FIFA World Cup Betting Tips, Picks and Odds: Eight elite teams collide for FIFA Confederations Cup

The image â€œhttp://www.sportsbettingindex.net/images/sports_02/fifaconf.jpgâ€ cannot be displayed, because it contains errors. Just two days to go before the FIFA Confederations Cup kicks off in Germany, world football governing body FIFA confirmed the eight squads that will participate in the tournament.

There will be eight teams competing in this seventh edition of FIFA's biennial event, which will open on 15 June with the Group A matches between Argentina and Tunisia in Cologne, and Germany and Australia in Frankfurt.

The four sides in Group B will enter the fray the following day with Japan meeting Mexico, and Brazil taking on Greece. Fifteen games in total will be played over 15 days in five different venues around Germany with the final held in Frankfurt on 29 June. The other cities hosting matches are Hannover, Leipzig and Nuremberg.

The 16-match FIFA Confederations Cup 2005, the "Festival of Champions" to be staged in five German stadiums four months from now, is regarded as a major dress rehearsal for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

After sending a third-string team to the 2001 tournament in Japan and South Korea and a second-string line-up to France two years ago, Brazil have this time resisted the temptation to use the tournament for experiments.

Instead, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira sees the competition as an ideal chance to fine-tune his first-choice side one year before the World Cup, especially after they lost 3-1 to Argentina in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday which guaranteed that their arch-rivals became the first South American team to book a place for 2006.

Germany's coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, and his players will relish the opportunity to test themselves in competitive internationals after a year of friendly matches since their first-round exit at UEFA EURO 2004. Germany have played eleven friendly matches in the intervening 12 months - winning seven and losing just one, away against Korea Republic.

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Just as the hosts are hungry for a competitive challenge, so the Socceroos have arrived in Frankfurt thankful for the chance to test themselves against some of the world's finest.

Australia have met just two sides from Europe and one from South America in the last 18 months and faced more a familiar opponent, New Zealand, last week after stopping off in London en route to Germany. That 1-0 win underlined again their superiority in Oceania but this set of players now want to take on the world.

Argentina are already assured of their place in next year's FIFA World Cup and coach Jose Pekerman will be using the FIFA Confederations Cup as a valuable reconnaisance mission ahead of the real thing.A resounding defeat of Brazil in their latest FIFA World Cup qualifier means Argentina line up for their third FIFA Confederations Cup on a high.

He has picked an under-strength squad, preferring to rest experienced players like Hernan Crespo, whose two goals formed the backbone of his country's emphatic 3-1 win over Brazil. Others missing out are Roberto Ayala and Juan Sebastian Veron.