The last time the sides met was a whole 12 years ago in the third-place playoff at the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany. The hosts went on to win a thrilling encounter 4-3 in extra-time courtesy of a Michael Ballack goal after the Mexicans had clawed themselves back from behind three times in the ninety. The two sides will clash once again at the Confederations Cup, this time in the semi-final with a place in the showpiece final up for grabs in 2017. Kick-off at the Ficht Olympic Stadium in Sochi on Thursday June 29
th is at 21:00 (9pm local time).
Germany finished on top of Group B with two wins and a draw to set up a meeting with Group A runners-up Mexico who dumped out Russia with a 2-1 win in the final group game to book their place in the semis ahead of the host nation.
Mexico Group A results:
- Portugal (D) 2-2
- New Zealand (W) 2-1
- Russia (W) 2-1
Germany Group B results:
- Australia (W) 3-2
- Chile (D) 1-1
- Cameroon (W) 3-1
Germany and Mexico have previously met on 10 occasions with the central Americans managing just one victory over the current world champions.
Germany vs. Mexico head-to-headPlayed: 10
Germany Wins: 5
Draws: 4
Mexico Wins: 1
Goals Scored (Germany): 20
Goals Scored (Mexico): 9
Die Mannschaft have never won the Confederations Cup. In 2005, in Germany they failed to replicate the success of their fellow Mexicans who won the tournament on home soil back in 1999 which remains their only triumph to date. The Germans come into this edition as World Cup winners however and despite having the youngest squad present at the competition, players like Borussia Monchengladbach’s Lars Stindl - who at 28-years-old is one of the more experienced men in the dressing room – and RB Leipzig’s 21-year-old forward Timo Werner have really stood out as ones to watch. They are currently the joint top-scorers so far in Confed Cup 2017 with 2 goals apiece – the same number as Cristiano Ronaldo.
El Tricolor are appearing in Russia as the CONCACAF Gold Cup winners and boast impressive players such as frontman Javier Hernandez and winger Hirving Lozano. Hernandez, or as he is more fondly known – “Chicharito” meaning “little pea” is the country’s all-time leading scorer with 48 goals to his name and could hit a half century in this tournament. He is no stranger to German football though. He plies his trade at Bayer Leverkusen and has netted a total of 28 times in his two seasons with the club. Leverkusen’s young German Benji Henrichs heaped praise on his team-mate ahead of their meeting in Sochi saying that “It's very difficult to play against him. He likes to score and even if there isn't really a chance he scores. You need to stop Chicharito, because he's a very good individual player.”