Germany edges Chile to capture Confederations Cup crown

ST. PETERSBURG (Reuters) – Germany survived a whirlwind assault by Chile and capitalized on an awful mistake by the South Americans to claim a 1-0 win in a pulsating, bad-tempered Confederations Cup final on Sunday.

Lars Stindl scored the only goal into an empty net in the 20th minute after Chile midfielder Marcelo Diaz gave the ball away on the edge of his own penalty area.

Chile, playing with its trademark high-octane style and driven forward by another relentless display by Arturo Vidal, dominated the match, but was let down by poor finishing.

There was a controversial incident involving video technology in the second half when Chile defender Gonzalo Jara elbowed Timo Werner by the touchline.

Serbian referee Milorad Mazic initially missed the incident, was alerted to it by the video assistants and then let Jara off with a yellow card instead of showing a red.

There was late drama deep in stoppage time when Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen dived to push away an Alexis Sanchez free kick.

The win could be a bad omen for Germany, however, as no team has ever won the World Cup after lifting the Confederations Cup the year before.

Portugal wins consolation

In the earlier 3rd-place match, an extra-time penalty from Adrien Silva gave Portugal a 2-1 win over Mexico.

Portugal, which missed a spot kick given thanks to the video assistant referees 16 minutes into the match, was awarded a second penalty after 104 minutes on a hand-ball.

Adrien Silva converted the kick to give the European champion a hard-fought victory.

The win came after Pepe saved his side with an equalizer in the 91st minute, hurling himself at a cross to knock the ball past Man of the Match Guillermo Ochoa.

Portugal is now unbeaten against Mexico in five encounters dating back to 1969. GERMANY MIDFIELDER Lars Stindl celebrates after scoring the lone goal of last night’s Confederations Cup final past Chile ’keeper Claudio Bravo (1), a 20th-minute tally that held up to give the Germans the championship in St. Petersburg.