Job already done as Germany take on Chile in final

Low had said he wants to use tournament to blood new players and he has managed to do that

LONDON: Germany will take on Chile in Sunday's Confederations Cup final feeling like they have already won the tournament after a fine run with a second-string team has yielded several top prospects for next year's World Cup defence.

Coach Joachim Loew is not a huge fan of a the eight-team event that acts as a dress rehearsal for the subsequent year's World Cup and he opted to rest many of his first-choice players for the Russia tournament rather than shorten their off-season.

Among those missing are Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, Manuel Neuer and Marco Reus as Low opted to take a team made up of young hopefuls keen to gain valuable tournament experience with 2018 in mind.

Low got more than he bargained for, however, and will be spoilt for choice on Sunday with several players, such as joint top-scorers Leon Goretzka and Timo Werner, and Lars Stindl, showing great promise at the Russian event.

While a title against the South American champions, which would be Germany's first in this competition, would be more than welcome, Low is more interested in preserving team spirit ahead of the showdown in St Petersburg.

"The boys are having fun, they are hungry for success," Low told reporters. "You can really feel that. I think what we are seeing is the creation of a team here."

It is this team spirit that has carried the Germans through the tournament after Low’s squad selection initially raised eyebrows with the team having never played together before.

"Chile are the strongest opponents in this tournament, we know them pretty well and we expect them to go for it in the final," added Low, whose team drew 1-1 with the South Americans in a group stage encounter. "They will be trying flat out to pull it off, as they are coming to the end of their season, and we will have to try and counter that.”

Hard-working Chile will again seek to challenge Germany for possession using a high-octane pressing game orchestrated by Alexis Sanchez but a better conversion rate of any chances that come their way is crucial to their hopes of success. They wasted a number of good opportunities in the semi-final against Portugal before edging out the European champions on penalties to reach their third final in three years after Copa America successes in 2015 and 2016.

"We know the Chileans are flexible in their game. They have been pursuing their own style for many years now, a very good and positive development," said Low.

Chile have never defeated Germany in a competitive game before but La Roja refused to be cowed down by the occasion. “We are from a country that might not be used to these kind of situations," captain Claudio Bravo said of Sunday's final. "So, by playing football, we have the chance to make our people happy so they can forget about their problems. That's the most beautiful thing of all.”