El Tri vs. Die Mannschaft: analysis and predictions
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It’s official, El Tri will face the World Cup champions in the semi-finals.
Mexico has never defeated Germany in a FIFA regulated tournament
Mexico met Germany in three World Cups and one Confederations Cup. Their first World Cup meeting ended with 0-6 score. In the 1986 World Cup, Germany eliminated Mexico via penalty shootout. In the 1998 World Cup, Germany did it again (2-1). Their last match was in the 2005 Confederations Cup 3rd place playoff; which Germany won (4-3). So, historically speaking, Mexico’s chances are slim.
Germany’s weakness is their youth
The players that brought success to the team in 2014 are not part of this tournament. Manuel Neuer (injured), Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos, André Schürrle, Mario Götze, and Thomas Müller were key to Germany winning the World Cup. With the veteran guidance missing out on the field, a loss wouldn’t be shocking.
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Mexico tends to choke under pressure
For seven straight World Cups, three Confederations Cups, and three Copa Americas, they failed to pass on to the next round. Mexico was tossed around in the 2013 Confederations Cup before being eliminated. In the 2014 World Cup, they conceded a late goal and a penalty to get eliminated by the Netherlands; in the Round of 16. A group stage loss to Ecuador sent El Tri back to Mexico, during the 2015 Copa America. Last year, Mexico was spanked by Chile (0-7) in the quarter-finals of the Copa America Centenario.
With Andrés Guardado missing the upcoming match (due to the accumulation of yellow cards), the Germans will take advantage of the weakened Mexican midfield. His absence will be a huge factor.
Winning the Confederations Cup isn’t a priority
Truth be told, Joachim Löw seems more interested on making it back to the World Cup than actually winning the Confederations Cup. As a representative of the world, you’d think that Löw would bring out the big guns.
One may say that this is the right environment to test out the younger talent. Yes, that’s true up to a certain point.
The ideal scenario for Germany is to walk out as champions with all the momentum in the universe and dominate the World Cup qualifiers. Based on how they’re doing, it’s hard to picture that.
Prediction: Mexico 1 – Germany 0
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