Can we learn anything about the 2018 World Cup from the 2017 Confederations Cup?

Russia hosted the Confederations Cup in 2017. This is a competition between the teams who won the international championships in their respective regions in the previous few years. For example, 2016 Euro champions Portugal were present. The competition is a small, World Cup like format, with a group stage and then a knockout phase. Germany won the contest, with Chile finishing runners up. Portugal came 3rd, and Mexico 4th. 

Often in tournaments such as this, we see players express themselves on the field, and see new stars in the making. It is up to each participating nation to decide on the type of squad they wish to take to the tournament. They might choose youth to give them a chance to prove themselves, or experience to try and get into a winning mindset before the World Cup the next year. 

In the 2017 Confederations Cup, Germany elected to use inexperienced players at the national level, but those who have had success at the club level. Players like Lars Stindl and Julian Draxler had good tournaments, and definitely showed that they deserve a chance to be on the roster for the World Cup. Portugal, who finished in 3rd place, took a near full strength team to the tournament, and were only bested by Chile on penalty kicks. Quaresma and Nani, whilst missing their PK’s in the semi final, showed why they are among the worlds best. Mexico tried out a string of new, mostly home based players, and had some success with these new faces. Chile, of course, failed to make the World Cup; sad, as they too had a solid tournament last year. 

Naturally, any viewpoints made from the Confederations Cup, or domestic contests, or even qualification itself, are only speculation. Even the worlds top players might not perform on any day; just look at the Brazilian meltdown four years ago. However what we can learn from watching players in international action leading up to June, is how they play as a group, who is there to work for the team, and who wants glory for themselves. Of course, now that the groups are announced, scouts will be at many warm up games, trying to get any scraps of information that they can. However, nobody can truly know how any game at the World Cup will play out. And that is the beauty of soccer. Bring on June 14th.

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