Top betting picks for Chile vs. Germany final at Russia 2017

Their semi final against Portugal ended goalless after 90 minutes and added extra time, but that is not to say it lacked appeal.

The Copa America holders set out to stifle Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and company, and that is precisely what they achieved.

The European champions had their chances, however, especially in the first half.

Regrettably for them, they carried that finishing form into the penalty shootout.

It was over in the blink of an eye as man of the match Claudio Bravo batted away the attempts of Nani, Joao Moutinho and Ricardo Quaresma to secure a 3-0 result and a place in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup final.

If only the former Barcelona goalkeeper has produced that kind of form for Manchester City this season.

? Watching Bravo on international duty like…#PORCHI pic.twitter.com/29TryfrHk3

— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) June 28, 2017

Now the Chileans face a patchwork Germany side which, despite missing a number of big names, made light work of Mexico on Thursday night.

The result was all but settled after eight minutes when Leon Goretzka slotted home his second goal of the night.

Timo Werner also got his name on the score sheet before El Tri hit back with a late strike from Marco Fabian.

Not satisfied with a 3-1 score line, the Germans added a fourth through 23-year-old midfielder Amin Younes in injury time.

That is impressive stuff from a squad missing Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos, Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, Mario Gomez, Andre Schurrle and a few others who would make Germany’s best matchday squad.

Lucky for coach Joachim Low, there are no further injury or availability concerns for Die Mannschaft ahead of Sunday’s final in Saint Petersburg.

Chile squad

Coach: Juan Antonio Pizzi

• 1. Claudio Bravo
  2. Eugenio Mena
  3. Enzo Roco
  4. Mauricio Isla
  5. Francisco Silva
  6. Jose Fuenzalida
  7. Alexis Sanchez
  8. Arturo Vidal
  9. Angel Sagal
  10. Pablo Hernandez
  11. Eduardo Vargas
  12. Christopher Toselli
  13. Paulo Diaz
  14. Felipe Gutierrez
  15. Jean Beausejour
  16. Martin Rodriguez
  17. Gary Medel
  18. Gonzalo Jara
  19. Leonardo Valencia
  20. Charles Aranguiz
  21. Marcelo Diaz
  22. Edson Puch
  23. Johnny Herrera

Germany squad

Coach: Joachim Low

• 1. Kevin Trapp
  2. Shkodran Mustafi
  3. Jonas Hector
  4. Matthias Ginter
  5. Marvin Plattenhardt
  6. Benjamin Henrichs
  7. Julian Draxler
  8. Leon Goretzka
  9. Sandro Wagner
  10. Kerem Demirbay
  11. Timo Werner
  12. Bernd Leno
  13. Lars Stindl
  14. Emre Can
  15. Amin Younes
  16. Antonio Rudiger
  17. Niklas Sule
  18. Joshua Kimmich
  19. (Leroy Sane*)
  20. Julian Brandt
  21. Sebastian Rudy
  22. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen
  23. (Diego Demme*)

* Absent

Alexis Sanchez goalscorer specials

• Anytime goalscorer – +175 at Bet365.com
• First goalscorer – +500
• Two or more goals – +1000
• Anytime goalscorer/2-1 Chile – +1600
• Three or more goals – +5000

Chile have had plenty of important contributors through their campaign at Russia 2017.

Claudio Bravo is a match-winner between the sticks, Gary Medel mixes braun with brains and Arturo Vidal is a beast in midfield.

No one player has stood out in the forward third, however, with each of the team’s six goals coming from a different source.

They may need to find more firepower if they hope to tame a youthful, exuberant German squad that seems much more intent on scoring goals than keeping them out.

Even if Chile do what they did against Portugal and look to clog up the game with solid, smart defending, they will need a forward outlet to keep the Germans honest and cause problems on the counterattack.

Sanchez has to be the man to step up and lead from the front.

Chile vs. Germany betting pick

Chile to lift the trophy – +102 at Sportsbet

The obvious play here is to say that Germany are the defending world champions and should have the mettle to see off Chile’s challenge.

However, very few of the players who lifted the Copa Mundial at Brazil 2014 have made it to Russia.

To be precise, there are only three: Julian Draxler, Matthias Ginter and Shkodran Mustafi.

The semis showed that Chile have the capacity to hold their nerve under pressure and win the hard way.

They did enough to keep Portugal’s star forwards goalless, which bodes well for the battle with Germany’s talented yet inexperienced attack.

There is value on either side of the ledger, but there is a very decent chance the South American champions will get it done one way or another.