Germany feeling like winners against Chile No Ronaldo for Mexico playoff
CONFEDERATIONS CUP Loew’s young side has performed beyond expectations in the absence of their World Cup stars
Germany will take on Chile in Sunday’s Confederations Cup final feeling like they have already won the tournament after a fine run with a second-string team has yielded several top prospects for next year’s World Cup defence.
Coach Joachim Loew is not a huge fan of a the eight-team event that acts as a dress rehearsal for the subsequent year’s World Cup and he opted to rest many of his first-choice players for the Russia tournament rather than shorten their off-season.
Among those missing are Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, Manuel Neuer and Marco
Reus as Loew opted to take a team made up of young hopefuls keen to gain valuable tournament experience with 2018 in mind. Loew got more than he bargained for, however, and will be spoilt for choice on Sunday with several players, such as joint top-scorers Leon Goretzka and Timo Werner, and Lars Stindl, showing great promise.
While a title against the South American champions, which would be Germany’s first in this competition, would be more than welcome, Loew is more interested in preserving team spirit ahead of the final.
“The boys are having fun, they are hungry for success,” Loew told reporters. “You can really feel that. I think what we are seeing is the creation of a team here.”
It is this team spirit that has carried the Germans through the tournament after Loew’s squad selection initially raised eyebrows with the team having never played together before.
“Chile are the strongest opponents in this tournament, we know them pretty well and we expect them to go for it in the final,” added Loew, whose team drew 1-1 with the South Americans in a group stage encounter. age of less than 24, Germany are the youngest side in the competition while Chile have the oldest side with an average age of 29. Joachim Loew left at home stars of his World Cup win as he builds a side capable of defending their title next year and his young side has well exceeded pre-tournament expectations. the combined total of caps earned by the entire Germany squad before the start of the Confederations Cup 2017. In contrast, Chile’s Alexis Sanchez and Claudio Bravo have played 114 international matches each. counter-attacking side, depending on their speed and energy to make swift and decisive breaks. Chile, on the other hand, like to hold possession and absorb pressure, blunting the rival offense on their way to victory, like they did against Portugal in the semifinal. It will be a tactical battle between Germany’s physical brand of football and Chile’s smooth passing. The 22-year-old central midfielder has scored three goals so far, including a brace against Mexico. Lynchpin of Schalke side, his hard-running style, dynamism, strength in the tackle combined with an impressive goal-scoring record, has put him on the radar of many top clubs. The attacking midfielder is the most experienced player in the squad and one pencilled in to take over from Mesut Ozil soon. Though he has failed to score so far in this competition, Draxler led superbly from the front and managed
the attack beautifully.
for possession using a high-octane pressing game orchestrated by Alexis Sanchez but a better conversion rate of any chances that come their way is crucial to their hopes of success. This is the fourth consecutive edition of the Confederations Cup to feature at least one South American team in the final. The concluding match of the 2005 edition involved two CONMEBOL representatives (Brazil and Argentina), whereas Brazil reached the decider in the last two editions and went on to win the title both times. The forward has scored three goals in the three matches he has played so far. The 21-year-old was the 2016/17 Bundesliga season’s most prolific German striker, scoring 21 goals and providing a further eight assists.
They wasted a number of good opportunities in the semifinal against Portugal before edging out the European champions on penalties to reach their third final in three years after Juan Antonio Pizzi has a settled squad which has been playing together for the past many years. defending champions in Copa America and represent the greatest generation of footballers the country has produced in recent times. Chile have made rapid strides and are in position to qualify for next year’s World
Cup in Russia. The 30-year-old midfielder has scored one goal so far and has looked in good touch. He could have sealed the semifinal against
Portugal without penalties but was denied by the woodwork. The Bayern Munich midfielder knows the German players quite well and his knowledge will be a big
help for Chile. Much criticised for his show for Manchester City during the season, the seasoned goalkeeper was the star of Chile’s semifinal win against Portugal. His superb reflexes, sound positioning, calmness and commanding presence with be the key for Chile again.
Copa America successes in 2015 and 2016.
“We are from a country that might not be used to these kind of situations,” captain Claudio Bravo said of Sunday’s final. The 28-year-old has continued with the superb form that he displayed for Arsenal throughout the season. Though he has scored only one goal in four matches so far, his big match temperament and experience could make the difference in the final.
“So, by playing football, we have the chance to make our people happy so they can forget about their problems. That’s the most beautiful thing of all,” the goalkeeper added.
European champions Portugal will have to make do without captain Cristiano Ronaldo as they seek the consolation of a third-place finish in Sunday’s Conderations Cup play-off against Mexico.
The Real Madrid star was excused from the squad following the penalty shootout defeat to Chile in the semifinals, returning home to meet his newborn twins.
The 32-year-old, who already has a seven-year-old son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jnr, from a previous relationship, is believed to have fathered the twins with a surrogate mother in the United States.
“We knew he was having family matters at home,” Portugal manager Fernando Santos told a news conference on Saturday.
“Obviously it was an important moment in his life to have these children, whom he hasn’t seen yet. And as we failed to reach the final here the president of our football federation and me decided that it will be a nice gesture to give him a chance to be with his family.”
Portugal are often accused of relying heavily on Ronaldo, but they claimed their first major title without their injured talisman when they beat France 1-0 after extra-time in last year’s Euro 2016 final. Borussia Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro is also missing for Portugal through injury, but veteran defender Pepe returns after he was suspended for the Chile clash.
“It will be a game with the same commitment with the same willingness to win from both sides, I believe,” said Santos.
“None of us wanted to play this game as our main goal was to reach the final. But as we failed to get that result we have to be motivated for Sunday’s encounter. We have the same objective as we have had in the last two and a half years — to play for the win in every game.”
Mexico’s Hector Moreno headed a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw in the group stage, and Santos is well aware of the threat posed by the Gold Cup holders.
Mexico are appearing at their seventh Confederations Cup and are hoping to restore their pride after Thursday’s 4-1 semi-final defeat against world champions Germany. Mexico, who won the tournament in 1999, have fallen behind in each of their four matches in Russia but will welcome back captain Andres Guardado, who was banned for the Germany game.