Germany’s Leon Goretzka scored two expertly-taken goals in the opening eight minutes to set his side on the way to a 4-1 win over Mexico in their Confederations Cup semi-finals on Thursday.
Timo Werner added the third just before the hour as Germany’s young, experimental team took advantage of the wide open spaces in the Mexico defence and punished them with ruthless finishing.
Mexico’s Marco Fabian pulled a goal back with a spectacular, swerving strike in the 89th minute but Amin Younis hit a fourth for Germany during stoppage time in an end-to-end game.
Mexico had lots of possession but failed to take their chances and always looked vulnerable at the back. Germany, whose starting team had an average age of just under 24, will meet South American champions Chile in Sunday’s final in St Petersburg.