Sports Blog 28/06/2017: Confederations Cup Semi-Finals Preview – Portugal vs Chile/Germany vs Mexico, Wednesday 28th & Thursday 29th June 2017

We’re guaranteed a first time winner of the Confederations Cup this time around, but who will it be: Portugal, Germany, Chile or Mexico?

The knockouts start on Tuesday, as European champions Portugal take on Copa America-holders Chile at 7pm on ITV. While they progressed with relative ease Cristiano Ronaldo & co couldn’t quite dominate Group A. Their opening game against Mexico ended 2-2 after a 91st minute strike from recent Roma acquisition Hector Moreno cancelled what looked set to be an 86th minute winner from Cedric Soares. They then only beat hosts Russia 1-0, failing to build on the early goal from Ronaldo – who sits at a Super Mega PGM of 42-49 – before smashing an out-of-place New Zealand 4-0. That hefty win proved to be necessary, Portugal only topping Group A thanks to superior goal difference.



Chile, meanwhile, may be frustrated with their performance so far. Though they beat Cameroon 2-0 they left it late, Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargas – who sit at Super Mega PGMs of 19-23 and 21-26 respectively – both scoring in the final 10 minutes. And while a 1-1 draw against Germany is nothing to sniff at, the same result against Australia is more concerning, forcing the South Americans into 2nd place.

Fernando Santos’ side are 2/1 fixed odds favourite for the competition as a whole – they trail Germany on the Outright Index, at 52-56 to 54-58, due to the strength of their semi-final opponents – and have the edge heading into Wednesday night, with Spreadex offering a Portugal/Chile Goal Supremacy spread of 0.1-0.3 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.

Thursday then sees the most recent World Cups victors Germany face ahem, inaugural CONCACAF Cup winners Mexico at 7pm on ITV. Like their semi-final peers Germany have been far from flawless. They made a right meal of their opener against Australia, which ended 3-2, and followed that up with the aforementioned draw against Chile. Only in their final game did they look fully convincing, breezing past Cameroon 3-1.



It has, however, been a good tournament for some of Germany’s newer squad members. Borussia Monchengladbach’s Lars Stindl, and RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner – both of whom have played just 4 times for their country – have scored a Ronaldo-matching 2 goals apiece, and face Mexico with Super Mega PGMs of 24-29 and 30-36 respectively.

As for El Tri, they immediately showed they meant serious business after fighting for a share of the points against Portugal. And though they did have 1st half wobbles against New Zealand and Russia, they bounced back to secure 2-1 victories over both. Yet the world champions may well be too much for Juan Carlos Osorio’s men, with Spreadex offering a Germany/Mexico Goal Supremacy spread of 0.4-0.6 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.7-2.9.