Chile and Germany will meet in the final of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. The match will be played on Sunday evening at the Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg in Russia. Despite having won numerous World Cup’s, European Championship’s and Copa America titles between them, this will be the first time both Chile and Germany have played in a Confederations Cup final.
Previously, Germany have played in two Confederations Cup tournaments but the best finish they achieved was third place. This is the first time Chile have contested the Confederations Cup in their history and they have done well to reach the final at their first attempt.
Chile Form
Chile were drawn in Group B along with fellow finalists Germany, Cameroon and Australia. La Roja started well, by defeating Cameroon 2-0 and this saw them top the group.
A 1-1 draw against Germany followed and Chile remained at the top of the group, leaving themselves in a great position to win it. However, a disappointing 1-1 draw against Australia meant they dropped down to second place.
Having finished second in Group B, Chile met Group A winners Portugal in the semi-final. The Portuguese started as favourites but Chile played out a 0-0 draw and took the game to penalties. Claudio Bravo was the hero, saving three Portugal penalties to send Chile through to the final.
Germany Form
Germany started the 2017 Confederations Cup with an exciting 3-2 victory over Australia. However, Joachim Low’s team could not overcome Chile in their second match, being forced to settle for a 1-1 draw.
With top place in the group up for grabs in the final match, Germany made no mistake in defeating Cameroon 3-1 and setting up a semi-final against Mexico.
Germany started the match as favourites and having scored 2 goals inside the opening 10 minutes of the match, made no mistake and won through to the final thanks to a 4-1 win.
Team News
Despite having played 120 minutes in their semi-final, Juan Antonio Pizzi is unlikely to make many changes to his starting XI. This means a place further forward in the team for Arturo Vidal, playing in support of Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas.
Germany will also keep a similar starting XI to the one which started their semi-final victory. Playing a 3-4-2-1 formation, Timo Werner will lead the attack, with Lars Stindl and Julian Draxler operating slightly deeper.
Top Betting Tips
Germany come into this match as the favourites with the bookmakers priced at 7/5 with Coral and it’s easy to see why. The Germans have won three of their four matches while Chile have reached the final by winning only one of their four games.
If Chile are to come out on top in this match, it is likely to come through extra-time and possibly penalties. Ladbrokes offer 12/1 for Chile to win the Confederations Cup via a penalty shootout.
Having played extra-time in the semi-final, following a long season for the players, Chile may struggle to maintain their effort in this game. Germany have struggled defensively in the tournament and Chile could score buy expect Germany to score a few goals themselves.
Germany to win and both teams to score is the best bet for this game and is available at 4/1 with Ladbrokes.