Germany has some of the world’s best players: goalkeeping legend Manuel Neuer, rock-solid defenders Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng, midfield maestros Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira and forwards Thomas Muller and Marco Reus. With such formidable talent at their disposal, it is easy to see why they are favourites to win the World Cup for a second time in a row next summer. But all of those players will be conspicuous by their absence at this summer’s Confederations Cup.
While heavyweights like Portugal and Chile sent strong teams to Russia for the competition, Germany elected to send an experimental squad full of untested players. It was a decision that hurt the credibility of the tournament, but Joachim Low clearly sees it as a good opportunity to test out fringe players. And when you examine the Germany squad, there is actually a wealth of promising talent within it. Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen would get in most international teams but is unfortunate to be playing at the same time as Neuer. Borussia Dortmund’s Matthias Ginter, Koln’s Jonas Hector, Antonio Rudiger of Roma and Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich can form a strong defense. In midfield, they can call on the likes of Julian Draxler, who recently joined PSG for £40 million and can certainly expect to be on the plane for the 2018 World Cup, plus Liverpool’s Emre Can and Sebastian Rudy of Hoffenheim. In attack Man City’s explosive forward Leroy Sane can terrorise defenses with his place and RB Leipzig sensation Timo Werner can wreak havoc. In fact, Germany has frightening strength in depth and can seriously challenge for this competition. It is also a great place for these youngsters to stake a claim for a place at the World Cup and they will be highly motivated to succeed.
It all spells bad news for Australia. When you analyse their squad and it is not exactly brimming with talent. Tim Cahill is still hanging in there, but he is 37 now and on his last legs at Melbourne City. Some of their most capped players are in their 20s but do not currently have clubs. A lot of expectation is pinned on Man City’s Aaron Mooy, but one season on loan in the Championship at Huddersfield is not exactly experienced to strike fear into opposition hearts. All in all, it is difficult to see the Aussies making much of a splash at this tournament.
It is a strange competition that throws up an odd mix of teams. Russia qualifies as hosts and Germany as World Cup holders, but the remaining six spots are filled by regional FIFA Confederations winners, so you get the likes of Portugal and Chile up against minnows like Australia and New Zealand. You expect the minnows to be destroyed, but it is not always the case in the opening game of any tournament. It might be wise to keep stakes lower for the first round of fixtures while you analyse how competitive each team is, how seriously they are taking it, and then ramp it up in later rounds.
Germany should win it and the 1.45 on offer at Bwin looks great in any accumulator. To get more value, you need to look at handicaps and Germany -1 Asian handicap is 1.72 with Paddy Power, which looks interesting. Paddy Power is offering 2.25 on Germany -1.5 Asian handicap, but that might be pushing it a bit.
Another option is Germany win to nil, which is 2.50 with Boyle Sports. As previously mentioned, Germany still has a strong defense and Australia will find it difficult to breach. Aside from the aging Cahill, their top scorer only has six international goals, and these German youngsters must fancy their chances of keeping a clean sheet. An even better option could be Germany to win and under 3.5 goals at 2.40 with Bet Stars. The opening games are often cagey and this covers you for Germany winning 2-1 or 3-0. In the goalscorer stakes, Werner looks a good option at 2.15 with 10Bet.
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