Germany 4-1 Mexico: Highlights and recap

Germany beat Mexico 4-1 in the Confederations Cup semifinals on Thursday, June 29. Here are all the highlights from the match.

Germany cruised through the Confederations Cup semifinals Thursday, beating Mexico 4-1 in Sochi to book a date with Chile in the final on Sunday.

German manager Joachim Low received plenty of criticism ahead of the tournament for picking a young, inexperienced squad. He justifyied his decision by pointing out that, if selected here, his senior players would have been playing their third major tournament in a row at next summer’s World Cup.

Perhaps he should have said instead that he believed his young guns were capable of winning the thing. They were excellent against El Tri, as they have been for the entire tournament, and led 2-0 within the first 10 minutes thanks to a brace form Schalke’s Leon Goretzka.

Mexico responded well, all things considered, and pegged Germany back for much of the remainder of the half. Javier Hernandez had an excellent chance in the 35th minute but could only poke over the bar from close range.

Low’s side put the match to bed in the 59th minute, Timo Werner tapping in after a wonderful team move that sliced through a poor Mexico defense. It was Werner’s third goal in Russia so far, tied with Goretzka for the tournament lead.

Mexico got one back late on — Marco Fabian beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen with a wonderful strike into the top-right corner — but Mexico restored their three-goal lead almost immediately thanks to Amin Younes.

As impressive as they’ve been to make it to the final, Germany will face a stern test on Sunday against Chile. La Roja are not only more talented than Mexico, but also more experienced in this sort of environment. Chile’s tournament know-how is also beyond doubt, as they seek their third trophy in as many summers.

Highlights

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Germany will play Chile in the Confederations Cup final on Sunday, June 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.