The Confederations Cup final has pitted together the world champions against the South American champions. Can Chile continue their great string of international successes, or will this be another trophy for the dominant Germans? Given that they have an eye on World Cup success next summer, this would be a good marker to lay down.
Chile’s wins at international level have been impressive, but you have to question how they’ll measure up to Germany here. They’ve not been at their best in this tournament, as they had to leave it late to beat Cameroon in their opener. Since then Alexis Sanchez and co have failed to play at their best, but will they find their form ahead of the showpiece game at this World Cup warm up tournament?
Germany boast a new looking squad, with most of their usual stars missing out this summer. They’ve named an experimental team, with mixed results. Their defending has been problematic, but they’ve looked good going forward. However, they have played some average sides so far in the tournament, so can they produce their best form against Chile?
Under 2.5 Goals (3/4 with Bet365)
Many are expecting goals in this final, with Germany looking good going forward and dodgy at the back. However, there was quite a difference between their meeting with Chile at the group stage and the rest of their games. They’ve hit 11 goals in four, just one of those came against Chile. In a game of this size, it’s easy to see the two playing a little tighter.
Both sides do have a very aggressive pressing game, which contributed to the low scoring nature of their first meeting in Russia. Both sides denied the other space, and that usually ends in a dull game. With two sides taking that approach here, we struggle to see goals in this clash. We’re backing against a high scoring tie here, especially after three straight low scoring games for the South Americans. We’re backing under 2.5 goals at 3/4 with Bet365.
Draw (23/10 with Coral)
With both sides keeping the scores down, it’s hard to see a clear winner between these two. What makes things more difficult is the fact that they shared a draw in the previous meeting, while Chile have been on a hot streak of draws since then. They’ve been level in their last three games, needing penalties to end their tie with Portugal. They are clearly able to grind out a result, while they’ve lacked the ability to take the initiative and dominate games.
We’re backing this run of draws for Chile to continue. The draw looks like great value at 23/10 with Coral, and that’s our second tip on this clash. As we’re expecting a low scoring match, we’re also going to side with a 1-1 draw at 5/1 with Sky Bet. Extra time seems likely here, this could well be the latest German win on penalties.