Soccer Odds: Battered Mexico In Tough vs Young German side
Germany (+115) vs Mexico (+280), Draw (+268)
Mexico did well to make it out of the group stage of the Confederations Cup, but they face their toughest test yet when they meet Germany in the semifinals on Thursday (June 29th).
The Mexican squad will be missing midfielder Andres Guardado due to suspension, and may also be without defenders Diego Reyes, Carlos Salcedo, and Hector Moreno — all of whom are dealing with injuries.
National treasure Javier ”Chicharito” Hernandez is expected to lead the Mexican side, but the battered 29-year-old striker is currently fighting muscle fatigue. While he’s expected to be match-ready by Thursday, the all-time leading Mexican goalscorer is training separately from his teammates at the moment.
Germany have an unbelievably stacked national team at the moment. Just consider some of the names: Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Mesut Özil, Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, Thomas Müller, André Schürrle.
All of those players, however, have not been included in the Confederations Cup lineup. Instead, manager Joachim Löw opted to send his “B-team.” Still, Germany’s second-tier includes the likes of Marc-André ter Stegen, Julian Draxler, Joshua Kimmich, and Emre Can; that so-called B-team is one most nations would love to field on their best night and, even without their star players, Germany are still the favorite for the Confederations Cup.
The young German side has had some worrying moments so far at the Confederations Cup. The squad’s inexperience was on full display during their first group stage match against Australia. The Germans won 3-2, but they were uncharacteristically shaky on defense.
They’ve come a long way since, and that’s all part of Löw’s plan. The German coach purposefully selected an inexperienced side to give them some much-needed exposure to the international stage. Their most recent match against Cameroon (3-1) showed a marked improvement.
Mexico had a great game against Portugal in the first round, clinching a 2-2 draw in added time. However, the Mexican lineup has taken a beating since, especially on the back end. If they had a line-up in full health, they would pose a serious threat to the inexperienced German side. But with all their injuries, it’s going to be extremely difficult.
With so many promising young players, Germany have ensured that they’ll remain an international powerhouse well into the future. While Mexico have done well to reach the semi-final, their journey will end here.
Pick: Germany (+115)
Don Aguero is a man of many talents, writing about nearly anything you can put odds to. Don has been writing for SportsBettingDime since 2015, covering sports, entertainment and politics. You name it, he's covered it! He is also a steadfast West Ham fan, and has learned to embrace that suffering.
