Confederations Cup Final 2017 Preview


The battle lines have been drawn. A new champion will be crowned for the first time since 2003. The old-guard of Chile will face Germany’s young guns in the final of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup having already played out a 1-1 draw in the group stage. The match will take place at the Kretskovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg on Sunday, July 2nd 2017. Kick-off is at 21:00 (9pm) local (Russia) time.
[caption id="attachment_954" align="alignnone" width="594"] Chile's goalkeeper Claudio Bravo blocks the ball by Portugal's forward Ricardo Quaresma during a penalty shootout during the 2017 Confederations Cup semi-final [/caption]
La Roja will have had an extra day to recover from their semi-final clash against Portugal which went the distance. Goalless after 120 minutes, penalties were needed to decide their fate. Up stepped Claudio Bravo. The 34-year-old has been widely criticised over his form for Manchester City this season but was undeniably brilliant in the shoot-out. He saved all three of Portugal’s spot kicks watching on as they scored all of theirs to secure their place in yet another FIFA final.

[caption id="attachment_955" align="alignnone" width="594"] Germany's forward Timo Werner (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final [/caption]
World Champions Germany on the other hand, made light work of the last-four. They eased past Mexico 4-1 thanks to goals from Timo Werner, Amin Younes and a brace in the opening eight minutes from Leon Goretzka. They, like Chile, are appearing in their first Confederations Cup final.

[caption id="attachment_957" align="alignnone" width="594"] Germany's defender Jonas Hector (L) vies with Chile's forward Eduardo Vargas during the 2017 Confederations Cup[/caption]
Road to the Final Chile Group Stage vs. Cameroon (W) 2-0 vs. Germany (D) 1-1 vs. Australia (D) 1-1 Semi-final vs. Portugal 0-0 AET (Won 3-0 on penalties) Germany Group Stage vs. Australia (W) 3-2 vs. Chile (D) 1-1 vs. Cameroon (W) 3-1 Semi-final vs. Mexico (W) 4-1
 
[caption id="attachment_958" align="alignnone" width="594"] Alexis Sanchez of Chile in action during the FIFA Confederations Cup[/caption]
Sundays encounter will be just the ninth time that the teams have faced each other and the fifth time in a FIFA sanctioned tournament. Die Manschafft came away victorious in all three of those leading up to Confed Cup 2017 having beaten them in the FIFA World Cup’s in ‘62, ‘74 and ‘82. The 1-1 draw in Kazan earlier in the tournament was the first time that the South Americans have tasted anything less than defeat against their more fancied European opponents. Alexis Sanchez became Chiles all-time leading goal-scorer with his 38th strike in national team colours before Germany’s captain for the competition, Lars Stindl equalised just before half-time with his second goal of the tournament. Chile vs Germany head-to-head Played: 8 Chile Wins: 2 Draws: 1 Germany Wins: 5 Chile Goals: 8 Germany Goals: 13