Germany beats Chile 1-0 in Confederations Cup final
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Germany’s experimental young side overcame street-wise Chile to win a bruising Confederations Cup final 1-0 on Sunday, vindicating Joachim Loew’s decision to leave most of his world champions at home.
The only goal in St. Petersburg came in the 20th minute from the 28-year-old Lars Stindl, who tapped into an empty net after a defensive blunder. While the midfielder was the oldest player in a starting lineup with an average age under 25, he only made his international debut less than a month ago.
“This was a magic match for us, for our young players who don’t have this international experience,” Loew said. “The way we were so single minded in this victory, it was very impressive.”
Stindl’s third goal of the World Cup warm-up tournament came completely against the run of play in a first-half dominated by Chile. But the more experienced south American champions, whose lineup had an average age over 30, could find no way past a side that is effective on the counterattack.
Chile’s frustrations were clear in the second
half when Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal squared up to Bayern Munich teammate Joshua Kimmich, who was also shoved by Gary Medel.
“Our team today had to fight back a lot,” Loew said, “because the Chileans are very robust players, especially in one on ones.”
Gonzalo Jara elbowed Germany forward Timo Werner in the face but escaped with a yellow card despite the incident being reviewed by the referee on a pitchside monitor.
It was the latest moment of confusion during trials of the video replay system by FIFA,
which is determined to retain the technology at the World Cup next year in Russia despite major teething problems.
Russia’s capabilities as a host for the World Cup next year became far clearer during the two weeks it hosted eight teams in four cities, as the country overcome concerns about fan behavior to provide a welcoming environment. The eighth — and probably last-ever — Confederations Cup has also proved a useful testing ground for Germany, with Loew able to test the capabilities of the talent at his disposal.