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Germany 1-0 Chile: Confederations Cup final highlights and recap

By Cody Williams

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - JULY 02: Alexis Sanchez of Chile and Leon Goretzka of Germany battle for possession during the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 Final between Chile and Germany at Saint Petersburg Stadium on July 2, 2017 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - JULY 02: Alexis Sanchez of Chile and Leon Goretzka of Germany battle for possession during the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 Final between Chile and Germany at Saint Petersburg Stadium on July 2, 2017 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images) /
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Germany beat Chile 1-0 in the Confederations Cup final on Sunday, July 2. Here are all the highlights from the match.

Chile dominated Germany for long stretches of the Confederations Cup final on Sunday, July 2, but lost 1-0 due to a dreadful error by Marcelo Diaz in the first half that allowed Timo Werner to set up Lars Stindl for an easy finish.

Chile dominated possession throughout, and tested the German defense for the first time after only five minutes. Charles Aranguiz was denied by an excellent tackle by soon-to-be Chelsea man Antonio Rudiger, before Marc-Andre ter Stegen smothered Arturo Vidal’s follow up.

In the 13th minute, Chile’s pressure forced Germany into one of several mistakes in possession, but Eduardo Vargas’ shot was easily saved. The same formula proved fruitful again in the 20th minute. This time Vidal shot and ter Stegen spilled the save, but Alexis Sanchez missed his side’s best chance of the half.

With Chile totally dominant, and Germany yet to record a single shot, Diaz gifted Joachim Loew’s side the lead. The Chilean turned away from Stindl only to be dispossessed by Werner, who played the ball back to Stindl for an easy finish.

To Chile’s credit, they picked up right where they left off before conceding, but there was a greater sense of urgency in the German counter-attack. Low’s side began to take back some control during the middle third of the match, during which time Leon Goretzka and Julian Draxler both missed decent chances.

The turning point in the second half came in an off-the-ball incident, when Gonzalo Jara appeared to elbow Werner in the 63rd minute. After consulting the VAR for several minutes, the referee gave Jara only a yellow.

La Roja, apparently buoyed by the decision, came back to life, and pegged Germany into their own half for most of the remainder of the match. Sanchez had a goal-bound effort stopped by an excellent Sebastian Rudy tackle, Vargas and Aranguiz both had good opportunities saved by ter Stegen and, finally, in the 84th minute the substitute Angelo Sagal skied a guilt-edged opportunity from the penalty spot.

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Highlights

Germany’s young side held up well in the face of a furious Chile fightback, and while it’s hard to say they deserved the win on the balance of the chances they showed a maturity beyond their years, just as they have throughout the tournament.

Low’s side will certainly be among the favorites at next summer’s World Cup. The only question after their Confederations Cup triumph is who he’ll select, from a very deep pool of talent, in his starting XI.

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