Germany downs Cameroon to advance to Confederations Cup semi-finals

Germany advanced to the Confederations Cup semi-finals for the second time in the country's illustrious history after finishing atop Group B with a 3-1 victory over Cameroon on Sunday.

The defending World Cup champion struggled to get a grip on the match until Cameroon was reduced to 10 men in the second half. Minutes later, Germany grabbed a two-goal lead to all but secure three points.

Germany will take on Group A runner-up Mexico on Thursday.

The Germans struck first in the 48th minute when Kerem Demirbay drilled his shot into the top corner of the goal. Timo Werner made it 2-0 just three minutes after a VAR ruling saw Cameroon go down to 10 men when Ernest Mabouka was shown a straight red card.

Werner, who was named man of the match, added an insurance goal with under 10 minutes remaining to become the first German player to score twice in a Confederations Cup match.

It's the first time the Germans have advanced to the semi-final stage of the competition since 2005. Die Mannschaft finished in third place that year following a narrow 3-2 loss to Brazil, who went on to win the tournament.

Germany's last encounter with Mexico also took place during the 2005 edition of the tournament when the two countries met in the third-place match. It was a fixture full of goals as Germany won 4-3 in extra time.