The league season has come to a close in most countries, the EL and CL finals are coming up next week as well, so it's time to look forward to a competition to fill the summer break: This year, it's the Confederations Cup in Russia, which serves as a rehearsal for the FIFA World Cup held there next year.

Eight teams will compete in two groups:

Group A:

Russia:



Automatically qualified as hosts, they still have an aging squad just like in previous tournaments, despite finally letting old man Ignashevich go. Still plenty of old players, with 11 of 23 being at least 30 years old. Still haven't come up with a better keeper than Akinfeev as well.

New Zealand:



Shockingly won the OFC Nations Cup in 2016 by beating Papua New Guinea on penalties (4-2). Apparently their squad hasn't been named yet. In any case, they will probably be the underdogs in this group.

Portugal:



Beat France in the EURO 2016 final to claim their spot in the tournament. The squad hasn't been named yet, so we will have to see if RITS has to follow this thread closely.

Mexico:



Won the CONCACAF Cup, i.e. a match against the US, to qualify. They are quite the regulars at the Confed Cup, with six previous appearances, winning it in 1999. A little more than half their extended squad plays in Liga MX, and apparently Rafael Marquez is also still active at age 38. Mexico will have good chances of advancing to the semi-final if they manage to get the results against Russia and New Zealand.

Group B:

Cameroon:



Won the ACON 2017 (beating Egypt 2-1) and will make their third appearance at the tournament. No squad information yet. Outside chance at second place in the group imo.

Chile:



Will make their Confederations Cup debut after winning the Copa America final against Argentina (I'm sure RITS will post the corresponding picture soon). The extended squad contains both experienced internationals as well as domestic youngsters. Much will depend on how many of the experienced players will be in the final squad, but the semi-final seems well within reach.

Australia:



Beat South Korea 2-1 in the AFC Asian Cup Final to advance to the tournament. Their squad is scattered all over Europe, and is pretty young aside from 37-year old Tim Cahill. They will struggle to get to the KO stage.

Germany:



Qualified by winning the 2014 World Cup, and will sent the exact opposite squad compared to the hosts: Jogi Löw did not nominate a single player over the age of 30, and also nominated seven debutants: Sandro Wagner, who had a good season at Hoffenheim, as well as Lars Stindl from Gladbach. Kevin Trapp has been called up a bunch of times already, but has no cap. Further new additions include Diego Demme, midfielder from RB Leipzig, Marvin Plattenhardt, Kerem Demirbay and Ajax youngster Amin Younes.

Might not be favorites due to the relatively inexperienced squad, but Germany is a TURNIERMANNSCHAFT, so they might still deliver.


Schedule (all times UTC+3)

Group A:

June 17, 18:00: Russia - New Zealand
June 18, 18:00: Portugal - Mexico
June 21, 18:00: Russia - Portugal
June 21, 21:00: Mexico - New Zealand
June 24, 18:00: Mexico - Russia
June 24, 18:00: New Zealand - Portugal

Group B:
June 18, 21:00: Cameroon - Chile
June 19, 18:00: Australia - Germany
June 22, 18:00: Cameroon - Australia
June 22, 21:00: Germany - Chile
June 25, 18:00: Germany - Cameroon
June 25, 18:00: Chile - Australia

June 28, 21:00: Winner Group A - Runner-Up Group B
June 29, 21:00: Winner Group B - Runner-Up Group A

July 2, 15:00: Third place match
July 2, 21:00: Final

Betting odds:

Germany 3 (Bet365)
Portugal 5 (William Hill)
Chile 6.5 (MarathonBet)
Russia 11 (Bet365)
Mexico 14.5 (MarathonBet)
Cameroon 34 (William Hill)
Australia 67 (William Hill)
New Zealand 501 (Bet365)

Let's roll.

In. Super pumped for this

In, was going to make an OP, glad I didn't

Make the most of this thread before cr.ui.zn makes an appearance IMO.

Chile has this, we are playing our strongest team. Also none of our important players had the season they wanted. They will be up for it.

The dark horse here is clearly Mexico, they will want to recover from the 7-0 which was their last non Concacaf performance. If I wasnt on my non betting period I would bet 1 unit on Chile and a third of a unit on Mexico to win the whole thing.



Im not sure Germany has a better starting XI than we do because Vidal and Sanchez are a class above anything they offer and our weaker players like Jara, Fuenzalida, Beausejour, Diaz etc fit very well within the system. But even then the germans will not have time to gel as a team to be a favourite over us.

Russia has the home factor but that is already assumed by the bookies.

How strong is the aussie team? Im supposing its the best they got given they have a world cup qualifier they preety much have to win.

Are those up-to-date odds? Looks like odds I'd expect before our squad was announced.

Pretty much, but our team sucks compared to our golden years of 04-11

Aaron Mooy is the star as a midfield playmaker, will be trying to get Huddersfield into the Premier League next week. Cahill will be an impact sub most likely.

Also St Petersburg pitch looked in fine form last I checked.

Cameroon for some reason dont have their strongest squad available. It makes no sense given that they will likely not qualify for the 2018 world cup, they should give this is a go.

The other mystery is Portugal, are they sending their strongest XI? We are tired of owning Messi so we could do with some CRonaldo action.

Leroy Sané pulled out as well due to some nose surgery, lol this squad

I've had surgery on my nasal cartilage done before and it was a surprisingly gross recovery. If it's something like that it's legitimate imo.
I wonder how big of a fall-out Löw and Kruse had. Total joke he wasn't called up. Must've been massive. Or it's within the squad.

Announced it today, strongest squad confirmed.

You spelled DEUTSCHLAND!!!! incorrectly in the poll.

Mexico getting 8/1 to ship is a slap in the face. we are taking like the 2nd best team to this and other than that 7-0 once in a lifetime loss, we've been crushing since Osorio took over.

at the minimum, Mexico is a stone cold lock to make semis. but it really is 1st place or failure. this team is so stacked with talent and it's time for them to deliver.

Cruizn you seem confident, how about a Mehico vs Germany last longer for 50 bucks

Hey Cruizn, who do you think will be the front players for Mexico?
Does Jimenez have a chance?
Is Lozano a lock in the starting XI?

lol royal blue, no chance buddy!


vruuuuk, Vela is a lock at RW. Jimenez should and probably will start for Mexico against Portugal. LW will probably be Gio because Chucky wasn't particularly good against the US a few days ago. Gio sucked too against Honduras but he's Gio so he'll likely start. id expect LW to be platooned between Gio/Chucky/Aquino/Damm. the position is up for grabs since Tecatito had to drop out for personal reasons.

Bump. Opening match in just over an hour.

is Chile sending their top players? their "A" squad? any major injuries right now involving Chilean national players? are they missing any key players for this tournament.

thx in advance!

In for LOL @ Cruizn when Mexico inevitably fails on a big stage.

Aww yiss

Motha

****in

Russia vs New Zealand

why is mexico even here? they got destroyed at copa america

also, is there a under 21 euros thread somewhere?

In for Chris Wood

Mexico fail is inevitable, big question is if they can avoid humiliation like Copa America.

They won the CONCACAF. Yanks, Canada and a load of small islands.

They shouldn't really be included in copa America.