Germany survived a whirlwind assault by Chile and capitalised on an awful mistake by the South Americans to claim a 1-0 win in a pulsating, bad-tempered Confederations Cup final.
Lars Stindl scored the only goal into an empty net in the 20th minute after Chile midfielder Marcelo Diaz gave the ball away on the edge of his own penalty area.
Chile, playing with their trademark high octane style and driven forward by another relentless display by Arturo Vidal, dominated the match but were let down by poor finishing.
There was a controversial incident involving video technology in the second half when Chile defender Gonzalo Jara elbowed Timo Werner by the touchline.
Serbian referee Milorad Mazic initially missed the incident, was alerted to it by the video assistants and then let Jara off with a yellow card instead of showing a red.
There was late drama deep in stoppage time when Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen dived to push away an Alexis Sanchez free-kick.
TheVolley
Guest
Also Joachim Low's past criticisms of teams that parked the bus makes him look hypocritical.
TheVolley
Guest
All Germany did was defend and go on the counter a few times. And they benefited from a gift from Chile. On paper their formation was 3-2(4)-4(2)-1. In reality they played a 5-4-1 formation esp. after they scored the goal in the 1st half. There was always 5 defenders in the last line of defence and plenty of white shirts in the penalty box when Chile got into the box. Now if the Socceroos won a game in that fashion I can guarantee you that the media and critics will be scathing. So 1. Even the top 10 teams play with these tactics. We seem to be harsh on the Socceroos a lot of times. 2. We are overly focused on attack while our defence seems weak.
Nemesis
Guest
Bring it on. WC2014: Concacaf did extremely well. WC2010 Groups: * Sth Korea finished above Uefa & Africa * Japan finished above Uefa & Africa * Australia finished above Uefa * Oceania (New Zealand) finished above Uefa (who were the reigning World Champions) WC2006: * Oceania finished above Uefa
Rollo Tomasi Jr
Guest
"The Socceroos, Ange and the A-League are hyped up by unknowledgeable Aussie football “fans” (especially converts who grew up following collision codes). The rest of the world and smart immigrants don’t make the same mistake" *Insert Fry-from-Futurama 'Not Sure If...' meme here*
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
Europe and South America have always been ripped off when it comes to spots in the world cup. I've always thought a pre-WC inter-confederation round of play-offs to separate the men from the boys is warranted before the WC proper, so that nations from the weaker federations have to prove their mettle against Europe and South America first.
Nemesis
Guest
Yup. ALeague is crap. Asian Football is crap. Everything is crap except AFL, NRL & Rugby. If you don't like it. Don't watch it. Go Back To Where You Came From.
senr
Guest
20 FIFA world cups have been held (from 1930 til 2014). 20 x 4 semi finalists = 80 semi finalists. Let's break down where these 80 semi finalists come from: UEFA: 56 CONMEBOL: 22 AFC: 1 CONCACAF: 1 CAF: 0 OFC: 0 What do we learn from this? Firstly: It's no big deal to win the Asian Cup, especially with home advantage. The quality is so low. Secondly: CONMEBOL only get 4.5 places in the World Cup. They are getting screwed by FIFA. The AFC(4.5), CONCACAF(3.5) and CAF(5 places) are all getting a HUGE FAVOR by the FIFA. If it came down to actual QUALITY ON THE PITCH - and not blatant marketing strategy by the FIFA - then the AFC, CONCACAF and CAF would get maximum 1 or 2 places each, and CONMEBOL would get at least 8 places, if not all 10 out of 10.
senr
Guest
The Socceroos, Ange and the A-League are hyped up by unknowledgeable Aussie football "fans" (especially converts who grew up following collision codes). The rest of the world and smart immigrants don't make the same mistake ;)
Newie
Guest
Yep. Haters gonna hate though.
Caltex Ten & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
Germany, are blessed with more then their fair share of luck. How Chile, did not win that game, beggars belief. However, it really comes down to one important ingredient that, the other nations don't have---composure, all over the park.
Mitcher
Guest
Surely the fact the two finalists and ultimate tournament winner was from our group should precipitate at least a minor backtrack from those who suggested the sky was falling for the Socceroos at theConfeds Cup.