Germany 1-1 Chile 2017 Confederations Cup: match report
An Alexis Sanchez strike was written of by a Lars Stindl goal in the first half to ensure the two favourites for Group B finished with a point apiece in Kazan.Australia-Honduras live online
Germany 1-1 Chile: match report
Germany and Chile played out a lively draw in Kazan that gives both sides a very solid chance of progressing to the semi-final stage of the competition.
Chile started in their typical frenzied style and were causing all sorts of problems for Germany with their high press. Shokdran Mustafi was being given a particularly difficult time and the presence of Vidal and Sanchez was suffocating Germany's defenders.
That pressure turned into a goal after six minutes when Mustafi succumbed to it and passed the ball straight to a red jersey before Vidal laid it off to Sanchez and the Arsenal attacker made no mistake as he toe-poked the ball beyond Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
The South Americans continued to counter-attack at pace and it left Germany light at the back on the occasions they managed to break through Chile's line of pressure. Sanchez was looking particularly dangerous along with Vidal. The Bayern Munich midfielder was playing a functional role as a striker and ruining German defenders' nights.
Germany look like they had no answers but that all changed when Emre Can hit a diagonal pass behing Chile's defense for Jonas Hector and he crossed to Lars Stindl and the Borussia Mönchengladbach man to slot home as he slid in to meet the ball. Chile, for all their dominance, had been pegged back.
They felt the effects of that effort in the second half too. While Germany continued to grow in stature, Chile seemed tired and made more and more mistakes in crucial areas of the game. They had chances but nothing concrete.
A draw in the last game for both side will do the job but given the talent for both sides, you would expect them to win and avoid the top team from the other group, whoever it ends up being.
Germany vs Chile live online: Confederations Cup latest news
Germany vs Chile live: match preview
The bookmakers' top two tournament favourites meet in Kazan as Germany take on Chile in a clash that is likely to decide who finishes in first place in the section.
The sides, ranked third and fourth in the world respectively, both come into the second round of Group B matches on three points after winning their openers on Monday.
Germany
Joachim Löw has taken an inexperienced squad to Russia, with an average age of just over 24 in a group missing mainstays such as Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Mesut Özil, Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller.
The Germans kicked off their Confed Cup campaign by beating Australia 3-2 on Monday - Lars Stindl, Julian Draxler and Leon Goretzka getting the goals - but did not convince.
Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno was particularly poor in Sochi, with the 25-year-old badly at fault for both of the Socceroos' goals.
Löw told his press conference on Wednesday that he will make the odd change to his XI against Chile, confirming that Barcelona's Marc-André ter Stegen is to come in for Leno - a decision that the Germany boss said was pre-planned.
Looking ahead to the challenge posed by Chile, Löw said: "They are flexible like maybe no other side, very unpredictable. Almost every player is capable of scoring and wants to score goals.
"They are so flexible that, from time to time, you cannot tell which player is playing which position."
Chile
Copa América holders Chile have brought a strong squad to the Confederations Cup, one featuring international old heads such as Claudio Bravo, Mauricio Isla, Gary Medel, Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sánchez.
Juan Antonio Pizzi's men began with a 2-0 victory over Cameroon, goals by Vidal and Eduardo Vargas settling a VAR controversy-affected game in Moscow.
Bayern Munich midfielder Vidal will come up against club-mate Joshua Kimmich, who Löw has said will start, and the ex-Juventus man said he was looking forward to a "beautiful game".
"It may be a little bit strange for me to play against Germany seeing as I have been playing there two years," Vidal added. "It's going to be a very special day for me."
An ankle issue restricted Alexis to a substitute appearance against the Cameroonians, but Pizzi said pre-match that the Arsenal striker is fit to return to the Chilean attack for what is a mouth-watering encounter with the world champions.
"Alexis is available," Pizzi declared. "He showed he could play without problems and he recovered after a couple of days. He trained and didn't have any pain."
Germany vs Chile live online: head-to-head
The two countries have met in three previous competitive fixtures - all at World Cups - with Germany winning each time: 2-0 in 1962, 1-0 in 1974 and 4-1 in 1982.
They last faced each other in a friendly in March 2014, with Germany also coming out on top, courtesy of a goal scored by Mario Götze.
Germany vs Chile live: possible line-ups
Germany XI: Ter Stegen, Kimmich, Rudiger, Mustafi, Hector, Can, Goretzka, Brandt, Stindl, Draxler, Werner
Coach: Joachim Löw
Chile XI: Herrera, Isla, Medel, Jara, Beausejour, Vidal, Díaz, Aranguiz, Fuenzalida, Vargas, Sánchez
Coach: Juan Antonio Pizzi
Germany vs Chile live online: betting
The match-up is an extremely close one to call in the bookies' eyes, with Chile marginally favoured to win it at 8/5, while Germany are valued at 7/4 to take the three points.