Germany 1 Chile 0: Lars Stindl’s first half strike clinches the Confederations Cup for the reigning World Cup champions
The 28-year-old scored a tap-in in the 20th minute against the Copa America champions with the South American giants squandering a host of chances
GERMANY clinched their first Confederations Cup championship after beating Chile 1-0 at the Krestovsky Stadium.
Lars Stindl scored the only goal of the match with a tap-in from close range in a lively encounter with both teams squandering an abundance of chances.
The opening period didn’t disappoint, with Chile starting quick out the blocks, missing key opportunities early on through Arturo Vidal.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen expertly denied the Bayern Munich midfielder in the fifth minute from close range, before the 30-year-old missed the target with a long shot two minutes later.
Barcelona’s shot-stopper was called into action again in the 13th minute – stopping Eduardo Vargas after Leon Goretzka lost the ball, before once again denying Vidal in the 19th minute.
The 25-year-old was tested with a fierce low drive that was spilled to Alexis Sanchez in the box, but the Arsenal man couldn’t divert his attempt from six yards out.
They were made to pay for their missed chances as the 2014 World Cup winners scored against the run of play with their first attack – Lars Stindl tapping home into an empty net from inside the six-yard box in the 20th minute.
RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner squared the ball to Borussia Monchengladbach forward after an awful mistake from Marcelo Diaz on the edge of his own area.
Germany could have made it 2-0 before the break on three occasions, first Goretzka missed from a tight angle after Diaz yet again lost possession, before Julian Draxler dragged his shot inches wide of the bottom left corner.
Then the Schalke central midfielder almost netted his fourth goal of the tournament in the 45th minute, but Claudio Bravo stopped the ball from creeping in at his near post after being found by Draxler.
Paris Saint-Germain’s star again threatened early in the second half – after gliding through into the box, his right-footed shot was deflected just wide by the leg of Gonzalo Jara.
Jara was then lucky to have only been given a yellow card in the 65th minute when he elbowed Werner in the face, but referee Milorad Mazic decided it somehow didn’t warrant a straight red despite watching the incident on the VAR system.
Vargas then missed a key chance to equalise for the Copa American champions after his fierce drive went right down the middle of the goal in the 74th minute.
Vidal again then failed to find the back of the net in the 76th minute, ter Stegn tipping over his close range attempt after Sanchez was foiled seconds before.
Sanchez then had the last chance of the match, but his free-kick was parried away by the German ‘Keeper deep into injury time.
