The Socceroos will embark on their 2017 Confederations Cup campaign this weekend when the tournament kicks off from Russia on the 17th of June.
Two groups of four teams will compete for the title, with Portugal, Chile and 2014 World Cup Winners Germany all close favourites to win the tournament.
Australia, as winners of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup were placed in Group B alongside Chile, Cameroon and Germany while Group A contains Russia, New Zealand, Portugal and Mexico.
The Socceroos definitely drew the harder group with reigning Copa America winners Chile and of course Germany and Cameroon, who won last year’s Africa Cup of Nations. One bonus for the Aussies is that the Germans will be sending arguably their second unit to the tournament, with all the World Cup heroes such as Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos and Jerome Boatang all missing the tournament.
The Germans still hold a strong chance to take out the title, however, with the likes of Emre Can, Julian Brandt and Julian Draxler set to lead the line-up. Along with the World Cup Champions, Portugal and Chile look set to be the tournament’s biggest threats.
Being in the harder group, if the German’s can finish atop the table they will likely face one of the easier teams in the tournament as the 2nd Group A team. Backing them to make the final at $1.83 is a safe bet.
TIP: Germany to make the final - $1.83 at Ladbrokes
Chile will once again be led by their dynamic duo of Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez, who were instrumental in their huge upset win over Argentina in the Copa America Cup last year. Portugal were also upset winners in their respective continent’s tournament, winning the 2016 Euro’s over France.
After a stellar Euro’s and an even better 2016-17 domestic season, Ronaldo could cap off one of the most dominant calendar years by a professional footballer in history with a win here. After already claiming the 2016 Euro’s, Ronaldo backed it up by winning the Spanish La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid and the Portuguese forward looks unstoppable at the moment.
TIP: Cristiano Ronaldo tournament top scorer - $2.75 at Sportsbet
Now to the Australian’s. It will no doubt an extremely tough run for the Socceroos. Russia and obviously New Zealand were their two best chances for a win at this tournament and they both ended up in the opposite group. The Game against Cameroon will be the most important game for the Aussies, if they can pinch that one a draw against Germany or Chile might be enough to sneak through to the next round.
However, after the beat down that Australia were handed by the Brazil 2nd squad on Tuesday night, we think the chances of them losing to both Germany and Chile are quite high. Cameroon would be the better bet to sneak through to the second round.
TIP: Cameroon to qualify for the knockout stage - $3.50 at Ladbrokes
Tim Cahill has proven time and time again that he can get it done on the big stage. There’s a chance that the Aussies will go through the whole tournament only scoring 1 or 2 goals, so the guy that is best at taking the rare opportunity will likely be their top scorer. Back Cahill to be the Aussies top scorer at $7.
TIP: Tim Cahill Australian top scorer - $7 at Sportsbet
The winner of the tournament will definitely come from the big three mentioned above, trying to pick which one is a bit of a stab in the dark. Although they have a lot of stars out, the pedigree and defensive structures that exemplify German football still seems to give us confidence going into big tournaments. All they need to do is get to the final then anything can happen.
TIP: Germany to win - $3.60 at Sportsbet
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