The 2017 Confederations Cup begins Saturday, June 17. How do the eight teams stack up in our power rankings?
The Confederations Cup begins Saturday, June 17. The tournament sees an eclectic mix of teams travel to Russia, hosts of the 2018 World Cup. The host nation are joined by Germany, Portugal, Chile, Mexico, Cameroon, Australia and New Zealand. How do they stack up heading into the competition?
8. New Zealand
New Zealand won the OFC Nations Cup to book their spot in the Confederations Cup, and come into the tournament in decent form, having won six of their last seven World Cup qualifiers. However, their two most recent results were 1-0 friendly losses to Northern Ireland and Belarus, which gives you an indication of their level.
The All Whites’ best player is Chris Wood, who comes into the tournament after an excellent season for Championship side Leeds. The striker scored 27 goals in 44 league matches in 2016-17, and could be in line for a move to the Premier League this summer. Still, Wood can’t lead his country deep into the competition by himself.
7. Australia
Australia have had some great players over the years, but their squad for this Confederations Cup isn’t likely to go far, especially after captain Mile Jedinak and Brad Smith were ruled out of the tournament with injuries. That Tim Cahill, still going strong at the age of 37, is the most likely source of inspiration up top isn’t a great sign.
Australia have lost only once in their past nine matches, a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Brazil on on Wednesday, June 13. The only other decent team they’ve faced in the past year was Japan, so it seems farfetched to imagine they’ll advance through a group containing Chile and Germany.
6. Cameroon
The core of the roster that won the African Cup of Nations is back and ready to compete in the Confederations Cup. Cameroon coach Hugo Broos doesn’t have any Samuel Eto’o-sized names to call on, but after an expected AFCON win, he’ll be confident.
Besiktas’ Vincent Aboubakar, who has 16 goals in 56 appearances for the Indomitable Lions and who scored the winning goal in the AFCON final against Egypt, will likely play a key role. They’re in a difficult group with Chile and Germany, but they have enough talent to go through if either of those teams struggle.
5. Russia
The host country will field a relatively inexperienced side for this tournament. That’s partly due to injuries and partly because of a desire to move some young talent into the first time. There are only nine players in the squad who also made it to Euro 2016.
Russia are in decent form coming into the competition — they beat Hungary and drew with Chile in their past two matches, and drew with Belgium and lost to the Ivory Coast in March — and will receive a boost from playing in front of their home fans.
4. Mexico
The Mexican squad heading to Russia is littered with talent. The attack is led by Raul Jimenez and Javier Hernandez; Hector Herrera, Carlos Vela, Jonathan dos Santos patrol the midfield; and Miguel Layun and Rafa Marquez line up at the back.
El Tri have been transformed under Juan Carlos Osorio, winning 18 of their 24 matches. Their most recent match was a World Cup qualifier against the USA, a match in which they dominated possession but had to settle for a draw thanks to a wonder goal from Michael Bradley. They might not match some of the other teams in the tournament in terms of top end talent, but Mexico could definitely make a deep run.
3. Germany
In most circumstances, Germany would be favorites for this competition, but manager Joachim Low opted to use the tournaments as an opportunity to give high-profile matches to a host of talented young players.
Leroy Sane, Julian Draxler, Joshua Kimmich, Timo Werner, Julian Brandt, Emre Can and Amin Younes are just a few of the young stars hoping to make an impression. In terms of pure depth of talent, Germany are probably the best in the competition, but it’s hard to predict how a young team playing together for the first time will fare in their first competitive tournament.
Next: Confederations Cup 2017: Full schedule
2. Chile
Chile have had a ton of success in tournament soccer of the past few years, and unlike Germany, aren’t leaving their best players at home for the Confederations Cup. Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez, Mauricio Isla and Eduardo Vargas will all be there as Juan Antonio Pizzi’s side make a run at the trophy.
Claudio Bravo may be the biggest weakness for Chile coming off a horrendous club season for Manchester City. Then again, he might relish the opportunity to play away from the Etihad for a little while. La Roja won the Copa America twice in two years in 2015 and 2016, and could very well go all the way in Russia this summer.
1. Portugal
Portugal’s win at Euro 2016 wasn’t always pretty, but their strong defense and talent up front mean they’re well-placed to win the Confederations Cup, a tournament in which teams tend to be a little more lax without the ball.
Cristiano Ronaldo is obviously the main man, but a team containing William Carvalho, Bernardo Silva, Danilo, Andre Gomes, Raphael Guerreiro, Joao Moutinho, Pepe, Nani and Ricardo Quaresma shouldn’t have to rely on any one individual, no matter how good he is.
Ronaldo’s transformed his game in the year since Euro 2016, and he’ll need service to be effective, but as he showed with Real Madrid in the Champions League this season, if you get him the ball, he’ll score. Portugal are deeper than Chile, and more experienced than Germany. That makes them favorites.