SOCHI, Russia (AP) Germany and its coach Joachim Loew have already exceeded their expectations by advancing to Sunday’s Confederations Cup final.
Loew took mostly young and untried players to represent the World Cup winner in Russia, and rested several stars ahead of defending their title next year.
This new German generation rewarded the faith of their experienced coach – who set a goal of reaching the semifinals – with a 4-1 win over Mexico on Thursday.
A battle-tested Chile team awaits in St. Petersburg as the next test in the German players’ international education.
”For us, (the results were) not so important,” team manager Oliver Bierhoff said after the semifinals win in Sochi, ”but seeing how the players behave and how they perform in certain circumstances.