Germany have made their way into yet another final courtesy of a professional 4-1 win over Mexico in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup. They will now face Chile in the final at Sochi after their humbling of El Tri. The Germans took control of the game from the word go and never looked in doubt.
Leon Goretzka scored two in two minutes to completely take the game away from the Mexicans but their opponents were not going down without a fight. Mexico provided a stern fight till Timo Werner scored the third goal after the break which diminished any hopes of a Mexican comeback. Marco Fabian scored a consolation for Mexico while Amin Younes scored Germany's fourth in stoppage time. So without further ado, let's delve into the five talking points from the semi-final game between Germany and Mexico:
#1 A commanding display from the world champions
Germany's performance against Mexico brought light to the cliched saying of, "22 men running behind a ball and at the end, and the Germans always win." Mexico tried and tried but could not post a firm challenge against this talented bunch of youngsters. Low opted a three at the back system against Mexico with Joshua Kimmich playing as one of the three centre-backs.
It gave Julian Draxler freedom to play his natural game and helped Germany gain an advantage in midfield. This reflected straightway with Leon Goretzka scoring two goals in the first eight minutes of the game. A good start was the demand for both the teams but only one team could manage it in style.
#2 Surely the goal of the tournament from Marco Fabian
Mexico proved their reputation as one of the most improving teams in world football in this tournament but sadly fell short at the penultimate stage. But they gave their all against Germany and had many chances to reduce the deficit in the first half.
Though the chances did not go in with Javier Hernandez also missing a fine opportunity, Mexico did have one memorable moment from the game which probably will go down as the goal of the tournament.
Marco Fabian came in as a second-half substitute and had looked lively in his short cameo. In the last five minutes, Mexico received a free kick from 30 yards. They took it quickly and Fabian stung a piledriver from his right foot straight into the right top corner of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen's goal. No keeper in the world would have saved that effort as Fabian's goal gave Mexico some sort of respite.
#3 Leon Goretzka increases his valuation by a further £10 million
The midfielder from Schalke has arrived in Russia with his future undecided. He has just a year remaining on his current deal and is garnering interest from all corners. Arsenal are interested but the German club are ready to offer him a new deal to fend off any interest from within and abroad.
He had his best season as a first team player for Schalke and continued on that path in the Confederations Cup. His brace against Mexico took his tally to 3 in 3 games with the box to box midfielder all but sealing himself a place in the starting lineup against Chile.
Judging by his exploits in Russia, Schalke will demand a higher price than expected with his valuation being projected at a healthy £30-35 million.
#4 Shambolic defending from Mexico
Mexico arrived in this game in prime form and had not lost a game in Russia. They had managed a comeback on four occasions with their defence looking rock solid under captain Hector Moreno. But Germany asked them questions from the word go and in no time, the backline crumbled under pressure.
For the first goal, Moreno missed a simple interception which led Goretzka a clear chance to place it in the back of the net. The defending for the second goal was even worse as the complete defensive line looked to have gone blank when Germany attacked.
Mexico never came back from the onslaught in the first eight minutes but it could have been averted with calm heads at the back and a more pragmatic approach from the defenders.
#5 Timo Werner finally getting into the good books of the German fans
The 21-year old scored 21 times for Red Bull Leipzig last season and was one of the best strikers in Bundesliga. Still, he wasn't loved as much as his other compatriots by the German fans because of his dive against Schalke in December 2016 which earned Leipzig a win. That incident had made Werner a hateful figure in Germany. When he made his international debut against England, Werner was booed by his own set of fans.
But the Confederations Cup has proven to be a barrier breaker between the fans and Timo Werner with his three goals in the competition making him one of the best players in the event.
His movement and link-up play have been spot on with his positioning also being effective in scoring situations. Joachim Low has been singing praises of his number 9 since long and it seems that Germany have finally found a striker to replace Miroslav Klose.
