Saturday, July 8, 2017

Weekly Recap: Germany Beats Title to Win Cup; Mexico Collapses to Portugal

           The third place game (Portugal vs. Mexico) and the final (Chile vs. Germany) occurred Sunday. Mexico scored first in the 54th from a low cross that deflected off Portuguese defender Luis Neto and in, but it was 1-1 in the dying moments when Pepe headed in a cross into the goal. In extra time, things got heated after Adrien Silva converted on a penalty that Mexico was unhappy about. Portugal would go down to 10 when Nelson Semedo got his second yellow in the 106th minute, only for Mexico to lose their man advantage 6 minutes later when Raul Jimenez got his second yellow. Mexico once again showed its inability to close out and win games against top teams.
          Chile and Germany faced off in the final, where Chile outplayed Germany in terms of offense. The lone breakthrough came by Germany in the 20th minute when Timo Werner beat Chile keeper Claudio Bravo and tapped it to Julian Stindl to slot home. Chile lacked a finishing touch and had several shots blocked by German defenders or saved by keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The most impressive was on the last play of the game, when ter Stegen denied a free kick goal from Alexis Sanches, allowing Germany to win its first Confederations Cup.

Image result for germany vs chile final
Germany celebrate after the lone goal of the game.

Saturday, July 1, 2017

Predictions: Third-Place Match and Final

Who: Mexico vs. Portugal
When: Sunday, July 2 @ 8 AM EST
Where: Otkritie Arena, Moscow
Watch: FS1, Telemundo (TV); Fox Sports Go (Streaming)
Prediction: 1-1 AET (Mexico wins in PKs): Portugal will be without Cristiano Ronaldo, but will still find a way to score. This is a big game for the Mexican team and coach Juan Carlos Osorio, but his team will win by the skin of its teeth, due in part to Portugal's lack of scoring on penalty kicks.

Who: Chile vs. Germany
When: Sunday, July 2 @ 2 PM EST
Where: Krestovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg
Watch: FS1, Telemundo (TV); Fox Sports Go (Streaming)
Prediction: 2-2 AET (Chile wins in PKs): Chile shows its tournament dominance, by winning in PKs, again. Chile have won both Copa America tournaments in the las two years by winning the final in penalties, and advanced to this final by winning in penalties. Germany and Chile will open up this game with scoring, but after a scoreless extra time, Chile will have the advantage and win its 3rd international tournament in as many years.
Germany's Julian Draxler (left) and Chile's Alexis Sanchez (right)