Sunday’s final for the Confederations Cup in Russia is set with Germany’s young guns taking on Chile. The Copa America champions have experience at their disposal, but Germany’s poise and speed will cause problems. It’s been a very entertaining Confederations Cup and now let’s take a closer look at the final to determine who is the best bet.
What You Need To Know About Germany
Leon Goretzka scored in the sixth and eighth minutes to set Germany on a 4-1 rout of Mexico, with Timo Werner and Amin Younes adding singles. Germany allowed a goal in the 89th minute to lose their clean sheet, but Younes hit back in injury time and that was a good sign for the young European champions. Goretzka and Werner now have three goals each to lead the tournament, and the Germans have now scored a tournament-high 11 goals in four games. They have allowed five, so that is something to be a little concerned about it, especially going into the final.
What You Need To Know About Chile
The Chileans needed penalties kicks to beat Portugal in the other semifinal, and goalkeeper/captain Claudio Bravo was the main man, stopping three penalties as Chile won 3-0. However, it was a relatively comfortable game for the Chileans and they should have won late in extra time, hitting the post and the crossbar on the same play. Arturo Vidal had a very good for Chile in midfield, even though he missed a couple chances, while Alexis Sanchez was also dangerous. Chile was very stout in defense, and after a couple of early mistakes, Portugal’s lethal counterattack never really got going. The Chileans were especially good against Cristiano Ronaldo, who was having a great tournament up until this game.
Outlook
Germany has won five and drawn two against Chile, and the two battled to a 1-1 draw in the group stage. Sanchez scored his 38th international goal to become his country’s all-time leader in that category, but Lars Stindl equalized before halftime and each team could only take away a point. Sanchez and Vidal were their team’s best players on this day and they’ll need some help against the Germans, who didn’t look frazzled when Chile came at them hard in the second half. It was somewhat of a surprise as the most experienced German player is defender Jonas Hector with 32 appearances for his country, with midfielder/captain Julian Draxler next with 32 appearances. Meanwhile, Chile has four players that have 100 or more appearances, led by Sanchez and Bravo with 114, and Vidal is close to that milestone with 94 appearances.
That could be the difference the longer that this Confederations Cup game goes. The Germans are well drilled and they’re very ambitious going forward, but they still make some mistakes at the back. Chile is a veteran team that has played together for a long time, and even though they have a lot of experience, they’re not as old as you would think. Chile could be content to sit back and let Germany have the ball, and then pounce on the counterattack, and Sanchez is always dangerous running with the ball. Look for Chile to leave Russia with the Confederations Cup.
Soccer Betting Pick: Chile
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