SOC: Confederations Cup Final Preview

After an exciting two weeks of competition, the Confederations Cup Final will be disputed between the youthful German team and the experienced Chilean team. These two teams met earlier this tournament during a Group B matchup where they tied 1-1 with goals coming from Alexis Sanchez for Chile and Lars Stindl for Germany.

GERMANY:

Although Germany lacks a lot of experience compared to Chile, the Germans have shown us a very strong performance. Their offense is firing on all cylinders, but their output is tremendous. They have scored 11 goals in four matches, which is simply astonishing. This German team has shown they can beat others in a variety of ways such as controlling the pace of the game and retaining the majority of possession, a style that can be difficult to play even for the most experienced team.

However, as seen in their 4-1 semifinal win against Mexico, this team is extremely dangerous during counter attacks. Their strikers Timo Werner and Stindl are usually followed by the entire German midfield leaving as many as four unmarked players running into a box for either a cross or a square pass for an easy goal.

As good as their offense is, what the Germans lack is good goalkeeping. Marc Andre Ter Stegen has been the predominant starter this tournament and has done an overall good job, but when put under pressure, he can make costly mistakes. Ter Stegen plays a sweeper-keeper role, similar to Manuel Neuer, Germany’s number one keeper who did not make the trip to Russia. With this style of play, Ter Stegen often comes out of the box to receive a pass and begin a brand new play as well as coming out to be the last defender, leaving his net wide open. While he, like Neuer, has had success with this role that can help his team keep a high press, the risks he takes are sometimes unnecessary.

What has helped Ter Stegen this tournament is his back line led by Mattias Ginter and Antonio Rudiger. Although German manager Joachim Low has rotated the wingbacks, the German defense has been able to adapt to their opponents quickly. Germany’s tall defenders should have no problem defending corners and other set pieces. The best way to get past the defense is with pure speed, which Chile is more than capable of doing with Eduardo Vargas and Alexis Sanchez, but if Joshua Kimmich and Shkrodan Mustafi can slow either striker down, Chile could struggle finding chances to score.

CHILE:

Chile is an experienced squad, and have won the past two Copa Americas, but seem to be slowing down just a bit. They struggled to put away teams that aren’t as skilled in Cameroon and Australia and did not look convincing in their semifinal win over Portugal, which was decided on penalties. Sanchez hasn’t been able to score the way he did the past two years and this could be due to the uncertainty of his future at his club team Arsenal, where his contract is up for renewal.

Similarly, Eduardo Vargas’ production has not been up to par with his performances from the last two years. If they want to win this game, they will need to seize the few chances they will get against the bigger German defense. After coming back from injury, Claudio Bravo has shown he belongs among the best keepers in the world.

After a very shaky season at his club team, Manchester City, the 34-year-old has shown he can still be a starter for a top team, and in doing so, he has helped his Chilean team reach yet another final. The Chilean captain will need to continue to perform for at least one more game if he wants Chile to make the statement they might be the best in the world, as Arturo Vidal stated. With help from his defense, I think he will be able to do it. This defense has only allowed two goals the entire tournament and will need to hold Germany’s fiery offense to one goal at most.

PREDICTION:

Although Germany lacks experience, they have been the better side in terms of consistent results and solid play. I think their offense lead by Julian Draxler will be able to get two past Bravo. Chile’s tame offense will come out flat against Germany’s big defenders and won’t be able to outscore Germany. The score will be 2-1 in favor of Germany.

Photo Credit: Koora.com.