A new generation of German players won their country’s first Confederations Cup after beating Chile 1-0 at the Spartak Stadium in St Petersburg.
Midfielder Lars Stindl scored the only goal of the game midway through the first half, following a fatal mistake from Chile midfielder Marcelo Diaz.
Despite dominating for large spells, Chile were unable to convert their abundance of possession into goals, wasting several opportunities as they fell to a youthful German outfit.
German manager Joachim Löw’s decision to leave the majority of his first team players at home appears to have significantly paid off, with several of the nation’s younger players flourishing in Russia.
The result also means that Germany will displace Brazil at the top of the FIFA rankings.
Löw made just one change following his side’s 4-1 triumph over Mexico in a one-sided semi-final.
It came in defence as Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi was brought into a back three, replacing 20-year-old Benjamin Henrichs.
Chile burst out of the blocks
Germany’s backline was immediately tested by Chile’s high-octane pressing game, with coach Juan Antonio Pizzi naming the same side which overcame Portugal on Thursday.
The South American champions carved out the first chance of the game with just four minutes on the clock, when Díaz chipped a delightful ball into the path of Charles Aránguiz inside the penalty area but he thwarted by defender Antonio Rudiger.
Chile continued to pin back their opponents back, smothering Germany’s backline which began to make errors.
It seemed only a matter of time before the men in red opened the deadlock. The talismanic Arturo Vidal continuously found space on the edge of the German penalty area while Mauricio Isla’s marauding runs down the right also caused problems.
On 19 minutes Vidal’s shot from distance forced an unconvincing save from keeper Marc-André ter Stegen, however Alexis Sancez was unable to prod home the rebound.
Diaz error proves fatal
Less than a minute later, Germany took the lead courtesy of a calamitous mistake from Diaz.
The 30-year-old midfielder received the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, unaware that German forward Timo Werner was breathing down his neck.
Without assessing his surroundings, Diaz carelessly turned into 20-year-old striker, who was presented with a clear sight at goal.
Unselfishly, Werner squared the ball back to Stindl, who couldn’t miss from a couple of yards out.
Chile continued to dominate, however their only efforts on goal came from distance, through Vidal and Eduardo Vargas.
Germany were almost donated another goal before half time when another careless pass, this time from Gonzalo Jara, offered Leon Goretzka a chance to double his side’s advantage, however he was denied by the leg of Claudio Bravo.
After the break Chile lacked the verve and prowess which made them such a threat in the opening 45 minutes.
VAR called into action once again
Jara was fortunate to stay on the pitch midway through the second half when he appeared to elbow Werner in the face.
However, with the assistance of VAR (Video Acton Replay), Milorad Mazic deemed that the challenge was only worthy of a yellow card.
As the contest wore on, Germany began to sit deeper and deeper, tempting Chile to throw men forward.
With 20 minutes to go Sanchez saw an effort blocked by Sebastian Rudy and minutes later Vargas was denied by ter Stegan.
The German keeper was also on hand to tip Aránguiz’s long-range effort around the post and keep out a late Sanchez free kick, as Germany held on to claim the title.