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Sochi expects over 35,000 fans at Germany-Mexico FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal

The second semifinal match of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup is scheduled to start in Sochi at 9:00 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT)

© Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

SOCHI, June 29. /TASS/. The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal match between Germany and Mexico in Russia’s southern resort city of Sochi on Thursday night is expected to be attended by some 35,000 people, a high-ranking local official told TASS.

The second semifinal match of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup is scheduled to start in Sochi at 9:00 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT) at over 41,200-seat capacity Fisht Stadium, which was the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics and was then refurbished to host matches of the 2017 and 2018 FIFA Cups.

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Chile edges Portugal with 3-0 penalty shootout win for 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup final

The first semifinal match of the 2017 Confederations Cup was held on Wednesday night at Kazan Arena, in the capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, between Chile and Portugal. CONMEBAL Champions Chile defeated reigning UEFA Champs Portugal 3-0 in a penalty shootout following a thrilling, but scoreless encounter in Kazan.

"About 80,000 people attended first three matches (of the Confederations Cup group stage in Sochi)," Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of the Krasnodar Territory, said in an interview with TASS. "We expect about 35,000 football fans to attend the semifinal match."

Reigning world champions Germany cleared its Group B matches to reach the semi-final stage of the tournament after defeating Australia 3-2, then finishing the second game against Chile with 1-1 draw and then beating Cameroon 3-1.

Mexico is the only team at this tournament at the group stage to allow a goal in the opening period and then come back with victories. It was the case with its 2-2 draw against Portugal and with its following victories against New Zealand (2-1) and hosts Russia (2-1).

Germany and Mexico met previously on ten occasions, with the German squad defeating the Mexican side on four occasions against one lost match, while five more games ended in draws. The German side’s record of scored and missed goals against Mexico in their previous ten matches stands at 20-9.

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The match for the third place of this tournament will be held at Spartak Arena in Moscow on Sunday, July 2, at 3:00 p.m. Moscow time (12:00 GMT), while the final encounter for the champion’s title is scheduled to start at 9:00 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT) in Russia’s second largest city of Saint Petersburg, which was also the venue for the opening game of this championship.

This year’s FIFA Confederations Cup is held between June 17 and July 2 at four stadiums in Russia and they are Spartak Stadium in Moscow, St. Petersburg Stadium, Fisht Stadium in Sochi and the Kazan Arena in Kazan.

Initially, the participants in the 2017 Confederations Cup were hosts Russia, 2014 FIFA World Cup Champions Germany, 2015 Copa America Champions Chile, 2015 AFC Asian Cup Champion Australia, 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup winners Mexico, 2016 UEFA Euro Cup champs Portugal, OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) Nations Cup victors New Zealand and 2017 CAF Africa Cup of Nations Champion Cameroon.

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FIFA 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

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