Fàbregas was named in the provisional squad in the lead up to the 2013 Confederations Cup by del Bosque. He made two starts in the competition and one substitute appearance, all during the group stage of the competition, and assisting a goal in Spain's opening group match against Uruguay, which Spain won 2–1. Spain won all their group matches, only conceding a goal and scoring 15. Spain advanced to the final of the competition for the first time, after a lengthy and difficult semi-final clash in a re-match against their opponents of the European Championship Final of the previous year, Italy. The match ended 0–0 after extra time and Spain won 7–6 in the resulting penalty shoot-out, but were eventually defeated 3–0 in the final by hosts and defending champions Brazil.