Confederations Cup: Group B review

The Confederations Cup Group B did not present any surprises as Germany and Chile scrapped through to the semi-finals ahead of Australia and Cameroon. World Cup champions Germany have fielded a second-string squad for the tournament, but they still managed to convincingly qualify for the last four. Alongside them, Chile will take up a place in the semi-final stage, where they face off against Portugal.

Review on the teams’ performances:

Germany: Joachim Loew made a surprise decision to rest his senior squad for the Confederations Cup, but this has not dented their chances of achieving more trophy success. The young squad has evolved during the course of the tournament with Timo Werner, Sandro Wagner and Lars Stindl turning up their acts in the forward department. The defence has remained vulnerable due to the inexperience, and they have yet to keep a clean sheet in the tournament. Germany will take on Mexico in the semi-final on June 29.

Chile: The South American nation bagged a late victory over Cameroon in the first game, which literally proved key to their progress. The Copa America holders drew 1-1 in the next two outings versus Australia and Germany, and they would have hoped to be more clinical against both teams. With Portugal up next, Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal and co. will have to produce their best form in order to get past a solid Portuguese backline.

Australia: Australia attracted a lot of hype prior to the tournament after having lost just once in nine outings – that being a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Brazil. However, they failed to make the most of their chances in the 3-2 defeat to Germany whilst they drew 1-1 against both Cameroon and Chile in the remaining group games. Australia have been dependent on the old guard to produce the goods, and it could be time for a shift ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Cameroon: The proud African nation had nothing to lose in the tournament after having performed above expectations during the recent AFCON triumph over Egypt in the final. Cameroon lost to Chile by a 2-0 scoreline in their first outing where they held for a point for 80 minutes. They therein drew 1-1 against the Socceroos before being trounced 3-1 by the Germans in the final group game. Cameroon stuck with most of their players who achieved AFCON success, but the step to the global tournament let them down in terms of quality.

Image – Getty