Getty Mexico are the only team remaining to have previously won a Confederations Cup.
Mexico must play their best lineup Thursday to defeat Joachim Low’s young German squad.
Juan Carlos Osorio is notorious for tinkering as Mexico manager, but the semifinals are a not the time for changes. The only change is replacing Andres Guardado, who is suspended after seeing two yellow cards.
It was a tumultuous group stage for Mexico, who emerged unbeaten despite trailing in every game. Even against New Zealand, El Tri made a mistake at the back that gave the All-Whites an early goal. That won’t work against the Germans, who will take advantage of Mexico’s mistakes without repaying the favor.
Joachim Low left the stars at home for Confederations Cup, and brought a squad with an average age of just over 24. But just because the likes of Neuer and Ozil are on vacation doesn’t mean Germany doesn’t have players. Captain Julian Draxler leads the way in the midfield, along with Bayer midfielder Joshua Kimmich and Liverpool’s Emre Can. At the top, Low might go with Gladbach’s Lars Stindl, who at 28 is one of the old men on Germany’s roster.
Thursday’s winner will advance to the final in Saint Petersburg on Sunday. They will face Chile, who advanced in a shootout win over Portugal.
Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Eastern, and lineups will be posted one hour before kickoff.
Here are the basics:
DATE: Thursday, June 29, 2017
CHANNEL: Fox Sports 1
KICKOFF TIME: 2:00 p.m. Eastern
LOCATION: Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
LIVE STREAM: Click here for all live streaming information
LINEUP
Mexico: Ochoa, Araujo, Dos Santos, Layun, Jimenez, Dos Santos, Hernandez, Moreno, Herrera, Aquino, Alanis
Germany: Ter Stegen, Hector, Ginter, Henrichs, Draxler, Goretzka, Werner, Stindl, Ruediger, Kimmich, Rudy