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Confed Cup: Setting the scene for the final and third-place match

Germany v Chile: Group B - FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017

Shkodran Mustafi (L) of Germany national team and Alexis Sanchez of Chile national team vie for the ball during the Group B - FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 match between Germany and Chile at Kazan Arena on June 22, 2017 in Kazan, Russia. (Photo by Mike Kireev/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NurPhoto via Getty Images

It’s not a complete shock that we’ve stumbled upon Germany and Chile in the final, but it will surely be a contest worth watching.

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Meanwhile, Mexico and Portugal will meet in the third-place match at the Confederations Cup as both sides look to finish the tournament strong following disappointing semifinal outcomes.

So how’d we get here?

The final

There’s no doubt that Chile’s road to the final has been a bit more bumpy than Germany’s, however, the South American champions have reached the title nonetheless. Led by Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez, the Chileans boast a fierce attack and stingy backline that has only conceded two goals the entire tournament (one of which came against Germany).

Germany has out shined all expectations with a roster mostly full of younger players to this point. Joachim Low’s side has scored more goals than anybody else this tournament (10) while improving defensively with every outing. Meanwhile, Temo Werner and Leon Goretzka are drawing great attention to themselves for all the right reasons, having tallied three goals apiece thus far.

When Chile and Germany met in the group stage, we received a solid 1-1 draw, so extra time could very much be in play on Sunday with these two stingy backlines.

Third-place

Mexico’s trend of falling behind early continued against Germany, and the reigning World Cup winners simply never gave El Tri a chance to get back into the match.

While Marco Fabian arguably scored the goal of the tournament as a consolation, Mexico was simply overmatched the entire way, but they’ll have a chance to somewhat make good on Sunday against a Portugal side that will be without its biggest star.

Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be available for the Portuguese after welcoming twins this week, leaving the Europeans without their greatest attacking threat. That being said, Portugal still boasts several promising goalscoring threats including veteran Ricardo Quaresma and new Manchester City signing Bernardo Silva.

Below is the schedule for Sunday’s matches.

Third place -- Mexico vs. Portugal -- 8 a.m. ET
Title match -- Germany vs. Chile -- 2 p.m. ET