ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) Germany’s young players got a rough guide to winning a major tournament and proved up to the challenge in a physical Confederations Cup final that threatened to boil over on Sunday.
A tough Chile side tried to intimidate the Germans in a forceful South American style not often seen in Europe.
Germany stood up to the test, defending an early lead for a bruising 1-0 win to accelerate its education ahead of its World Cup title defense.
”We’ve been literally fighting for every single ball, every single meter to defend our 1-0 lead,” said Germany coach Joachim Loew, describing Chile as ”very robust.