Germany’s Confederations Cup campaign has gone pretty much according to plan thus far. They had a tougher time than expected in their opening group game against Australia, but still managed to get the 3-2 win. Meanwhile, their draw against Chile was pretty much expected, as was their more convincing 3-1 win over Cameroon in their final group game.
Julian Draxler starred in that win over Cameroon as he bossed the game and showed the superstar quality he’s always had in him. Timo Werner also got on the scoresheet twice, joining Lars Stindl as Mannschaft neophytes who are making the most out of their opportunity in this tournament.
With those three providing sufficient firepower, the Germans will be very difficult to contain for the entire 90 minutes, especially by a Mexican defense that could be missing some key pieces.
However, Germany’s own defense has some question marks. They have yet to keep a clean sheet in the tournament, which is in part a reflection of the new style manager Jogi Low has been implementing in the tournament.
Mexico took care of business during the group stage. After getting a key draw against Portugal in their opener, they scored 2-1 wins over New Zealand and Russia to finish second in the group.
However, they will not head into the semifinals in great shape. Starting central defender Carlos Salcedo has been ruled out for the tournament with a shoulder injury. His replacement, Hector Moreno, also picked up an injury and might not be 100 percent. The same could be said of star striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez.
And to add more insult to injury, midfielder and captain Andres Guardado will be suspended after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament.
Manager Juan Carlos Osorio will have his hands full getting his team just right against the Germans despite those limitations. Like Germany, Mexico has failed to keep a clean sheet in the tournament, and a defense at less than full strength won’t help.
They do have the weapons in attack to cause a suspect German backline some problems. But it will largely depend on Chicharito’s health and whether he can be fully effective.
Writer’s Prediction
Germany (-105) outduels an understrength Mexico team and moves on to the final with a 2-1 win.
