Our football scribe previews the eye-catching 2017 Confederations Cup matchup between Australia and Germany.
Monday sees 2015 AFC Asian Cup winners, Australia, battle it out with world champions, Germany. The Socceroos will feel they have a chance against a youthful German team. Still, Joachim Low’s side remain favourites for this match and the entire tournament, despite picking a young and inexperienced squad to compete.
Confederations Cup | Group B | Monday 19 June | Olimpiyskiy Stadion Fisht | 17:00
To Win (90 Mins)
Australia 6/1 | Draw 36/10 | Germany 4/10
Australia
Australia head into the tournament in some decent form. The Socceroos are unbeaten in eight matches, at the time of writing, and battle it out with Brazil on Tuesday in their final friendly before the Confederations Cup.
The South-East Asians are capable of causing an upset on their day and will look to attack this young German team. Tim Cahill will spearhead the attack and although the Australian forward is not the tallest player around, few can beat him in the air.
National team captain, Mile Jedinak, will anchor the midfield and just like Cahill, he’s a huge aerial threat for Germany. Aaron Mooy will be one to watch out for. The on-loan Manchester City midfielder has been linked with a number of Premier League teams after a successful season with Huddersfield.
Germany
Joachim Low has been criticised for the squad he has chosen to compete at the FIFA Confederations Cup. Reigning world champions, Germany, have omitted Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil, as well as Jerome Boateng, Mario Gomez and Mats Hummels, from their selection for the tournament.
Borussia Dortmund winger, Marco Reus, has also been rested, while Leroy Sane, Mario Gotze, Manuel Neuer and Julian Weigl are all unavailable due to injury. Still, you get the feeling that the Germans will be too good for the Australians.
They have a fresh young squad with an abundance of talent. PSG winger, Julian Draxler, is Die Mannschaft’s best player and will captain the side in Russia. Germany still have some solid defenders in Shkodran Mustafi and Niklas Sule, who was recently snapped up by Bayern Munich.
Verdict: Germany Win To Nil (27/20)
I’m expecting a low-scoring encounter on Monday afternoon, with Germany tipped to edge it. They have the defenders and the goalkeepers to do the job perfectly, with their young attackers tipped to get the odd goal. Back Germany to Win to Nil at a valuable 27/20.
Written by Jesse Nagel @Hollywoodbets
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