Germany crushes Mexico, enters final against Chile

The reigning world champions beat Mexico 4-1 in the 2017 Confederations Cup semi-finals.

Goals: Goretzka (6', 8'), Werner (59'), Younes (90') - Fabian (89').

Germany took the lead against Mexico within minutes of the match starting. Between the sixth and eighth minutes, midfielder Leon Goretzka scored two consecutive goals, giving the world champions a huge advantage. The 22-year-old opened the scoring with a tricky one-touch finish from outside the box, and the second goal was achieved thanks to his ability to run into space and finish past goalkeeper Ochoa.

Mexico conceded two early goals and appeared to be stuck in front of their opponents. The North and Central American representatives struggled with a possession-based style of play but failed to create many truly dangerous chances. Mexico had 26 shots but every time they could have scored, they wasted them. Among them were Javier Hernandez’s close-range shot and Raul Jimenez’s header that hit the crossbar.

Meanwhile, coach Joachim Low's young players showed that they were more in tune than in the group stage matches. Germany got their third goal early in the second half after a smooth combination. The ball was fed to Timo Werner in an unmarked position and the player easily scored into an empty net.

Midfielder Goretzka scored consecutive goals at the beginning of the match. Photo: Reuters.

Mexico got a late consolation goal and left the game with a superb goal. Marco Fabian fired a beautiful shot from 30 meters out that left goalkeeper Andre ter Stegen helpless.

However, Germany still finished the match with a three-goal lead. Immediately after Mexico reduced the score, second-half substitute Amin Younes sealed the score at 4-1 with an accurate finish from a tight angle.

The victory over Mexico helped Germany to play in the final on July 2. Coach Joachim Low and his team will meet Chile again, the only team they have not won against in this year's tournament. In the group stage, Germany drew 1-1 with Chile.

In the final, Germany continued to show their superior strength and introduced many talented faces. Although they only brought a squad of young and emerging players to Russia, coach Joachim Low proved his decision was correct. After the familiar matches, Germany played better and better thanks to the cohesion of the players. The two recent big wins against Cameroon and Mexico are proof of this.

Germany also has the two top scorers in this year's tournament, Goretzka and Werner, with three goals each. Both players scored their first goals for Germany in Russia.

According to VNE