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<h3>SteemSports Presenter: @writingamigo</h3>
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<h3>SteemSports General Manager: Nolan Jacobson, @theprophet0, <a href="https://steemit.com/~witnesses">STEEM Witness</a> & PeerPlays Witness.</h3>
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Prediction: Mexico will advance after extra time or even penalties (if we are lucky)
Key Factor: Mexico has way more experience for such important games.
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Germany's Strength: The offense is working like a charm. Stindl is having the time of his life and Draxler is proving why he is considered to be a super talent.
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Mexico's Strength: Experience for such important games and the offensive combination of Chicharito, Vela, and Lozano.
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We reached the semi-finals, and as expected, both Germany and Mexico are in it. It will be a super intriguing match as the most experienced team, Mexico, will try to teach the youngest team in the tournament, Germany, how real men play football. However, those millennials from Germany have way too much raw talent to give in without a fight.
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<h1>Road to the Semi-finals</h1>
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Mexico finished second in their group. They have tied Portugal 2-2 and beat New Zealand and Russia 2-1. Even though seven points in three matches is not a bad result against such strong opponents, I bet that the coach is not satisfied with what he sees on the pitch so far.
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In the first game, I predicted that Mexico would tie with Portugal, 2-2, and I was right. As expected, Mexico's weak defense could not handle the Portuguese heat and conceded two goals, but strong offensive players answered with two of their own. I was happy with what I saw the pitch and expected Mexico to tarnish both New Zealand and Russia. However, coach Osorio decided to spare eight players from his starting 11 against New Zealand, and that almost costed him the game. New Zealand won the first half 1-0 and had some serious opportunities to make the score 2-0. I don't know how, but Mexico managed to score twice in the second half and won 2-1. In the last game, against Russia, Mexico needed to tie or win in order to advance to the next stage. Naturally, they played with their best squad, but that was not enough early in the game when Russia's defender, Samedov, scored a goal and put Russia up in front, 1-0. Once again, like the game against New Zealand, Mexico woke up after the first goal and scored two in return. Mexico 2-1 Russia and Mexico entered the semi-finals. So, even though the final score was enough for Mexico to advance, their defense made me want to turn off the game as it was painful to watch. If a team wants to win the Confederation Cup, they should never allow New Zealand six 100 percent opportunities. If Mexico doesn't make any conclusions, Germany will punish them big time.
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On the other side, Germany finished first in their group, beating Australia and Cameroon and drawing against Chile. Germany managed to score seven goals, which is an incredible result, but they conceded 4... To be honest, I don't remember Germany's defense to be that weak in any official tournament since 2000 or so. I understand that coach Low made an experiment and took youngsters instead of his best squad to Russia, but still - we are used to seeing Germany defending much better.
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In the first game, Germany found a way to win against Australia, 3-2. It was a close game and could have easily ended in a draw, but the football's Gods were with Germany that day. However, I bet that Low was disgusted to see such a terrible defense of his young defensive line. I mean, Low is spoiled by Mertesacker, Boateng, Lahm, and Hummels and he is now left with some talented, but yet mediocre, defenders. In the second game, Germany faced Chile and managed to pull a draw after a terrific start to the game. To be honest, I did not understand why Chile was not trying to win the game in the second half, and I must admit that Germany had some better chances late in the game. However, both of these teams seemed happy with a draw, so they have not pushed too hard. And in the last match of the group, Germany dominated Cameroon and won 3-1. They had some problems to score in the first half and even conceded a goal in the second half, but it was clear that they were a better team.
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<h1>What Should We Expect from Mexico vs Germany?</h1>
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Mexico is prioritizing this tournament and brought all their good players to Russia to win that damn Confederation Cup. On the other side, Germany is experimenting, and it looks like they don't give a shit about the trophy on a bigger level. However, I bet that all the young players look at Confederation Cup as a chance to prove to Low that they deserve a spot in the main squad, so there cannot be any thoughts of Germany not giving their best shot in the semi-finals.
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With all those differences set aside, both teams are pretty similar - they love to play an offensive game with powerful and talented strikers waiting upfront for their shots. Sadly, both teams lack solid defense, and we can expect some Sunday League's type of mistakes on any given moment. I cannot see how this game would end with less than two goals, and I expect both teams to score at least once. The most logical result would be 2-1 in either side, but I lean toward 2-2 and extra-time in which Mexico should find themselves on top.
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As for the players, Vela is yet to score for Mexico, and with his talent and confidence, I would expect him to step-up if I were a coach of Mexico. On the other side of the pitch, Draxler and Stindl are the guys which weak Mexican defenders will have to take care of.
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<h1>Guys, who do you think will win and why?</h1>
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