Farazan Mehboudi, 13, hops through a succession of hoops laid out on the grass, weaves round four plastic posts, and then returns the ball thrown at her by the coach with a deftly-executed movement of her hijab-covered head.

A tournament with a troubled history, the Confederations Cup is arguably the second most prestigious competition - behind the World Cup - staged by FIFA, but was only recognised as such in 1997.