SPORT Sunday 2 JulyJuly 2017 PAGE | 21 PAGE | 22 PAGE | 23 MotoGP: Marquez Djokovic and VAR is here to stay, clinches Sachsenringng Pliskova claim says FIFA President pole Eastbourne titles Infantino THE FINAL Germany and Chile target Chile: What they need to repeat Dominate possession: The South Amer- Confederations Cup glory icans’ best moments came when they had control of the ball, as this not only enabled them to penetrate in a dangerous and inci- Rizwan Rehmat Chile's midfielder Arturo Vidal (left) reacts during a training session in Saint Petersburg on Friday, ahead of sive manner, but it also allowed them to Saint Petersburg/ 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup final against Germany. defend high up the pitch. When they lost The Peninsula the ball, Germany took control of the mid- field and Chile lost their fluidity. orld Cup Strong pressure and seamless defen- champions sive cover: Chile were so impressive in this Germany area that they restricted the Germans to are just a very few clear-cut chances. Unfortunately win away for them, they paid dearly for their only Wfrom adding another global real covering lapse, when a speedy coun- title to their over bulging tro- ter-attack caught them out and resulted phy cabinet when they meet in the equaliser. They will be keen to avoid feisty rivals Chile in the final making that same mistake again. of the 2017 Confederations What they need to improve: Cup today. Better energy management: In the Chile, the two-time Copa Kazan game, the CONMEBOL side put America champions, won't be in an almost flawless first-half perform- pushovers as they produced ance, but the huge physical effort they had a fighting display against the expended came back to haunt them in the Germans in a 1-1 draw 10 second period. Against Portugal, on the days ago. other hand, they handled this aspect more Coach Joachim Loew's effectively, and appeared to have reserves relatively inexperienced Ger- of energy to spare, as the game went into man brigade is brimming extra time. Versus a youthful Germany side with confidence having on Sunday, this could be a telling factor. thrashed Mexico 4-1 in a Make the most of your chances: In ruthless exhibition of control- the first half of their previous encounter, led passing and aggressive Chile scored early on and proceeded to attacks in the second semi- create a number of excellent chances, but final of the Confederations they failed to double their lead, and in the Cup, the trial event before end, had to settle for a draw. This is not, next year's FIFA World Cup. however, an aspect that overly concerns In contrast, Chile relied coach Juan Antonio Pizzi or forward Alexis on the brilliance of goal- minutes to stun Mexico in the "My players know there is Sanchez, who have both stated that “We’re keeper Claudio Bravo who semi-final on Thursday. Leip- work ahead but they are ambi- creating chances and the goals will come.” stopped three penalties to zig striker Timo Werner, 21, tious enough to beat Chile," power his country past Euro- made it 3-0 before substitute Loew said ahead of the final. Germany: What they need to pean champions Portugal in Amin Younes, 23, netted Ger- "A lot of work has gone I hope in the final we will be able to the event's first semi-final many's fourth goal to into our wins," the German repeat that failed to produce a goal complete a resounding win. coach said. show good football and lift the Cup. in the 120 minutes of regula- Marco Fabian reduced "We couldn’t pre-empt Many people believe that Germany tion play. the margin of defeat for Mex- this (reaching the final) as Take control: While it took the Ger- For Germany, who raced ico but Germany's 'young some players had little expe- are a young side but they have more mans almost the entire first half to get to glory at the 2014 FIFA legs' had too much power for rience and you couldn’t plus points than minus points. They their short passing game going, they did World Cup by playing effec- the South American giants. calculate how they'd react. show they were able to effectively do bat- tive yet daring football in Coach Loew, who opted "We’ve become a team deserve to be in the final. Germany tle with Chile in midfield when required. Brazil, the final couldn't have not to bring his World Cup over the last few weeks. have fast players, they create a lot of They subsequently enjoyed signif- come at a better time. winning stars to the Confed- There's fun in the dressing chances: Chile's Arturo Vidal icant possession of the ball, with which Attacking midfielder erations Cup, is a man feeling room, but they aren’t over the they probably could and should have done Leon Goretzka, who is just 22, ready for another successful top," Loew said. more. They now have the opportunity to hit two goals in the first eight run. The German coach said rectify that. he expects nothing short of a Clinical finishing: Joachim Low’s men dog-fight in the final. managed to put away their only real "Chile is the most power- chance in Kazan, and against opponents ful opponent in this opening stages," Loew said America titles. Coach Pizzi renowned for their defensive solidity, they tournament, we know them of his team's 4-1 victory. said: "We deserve to be in the will again need to instantly take advantage There is only one match to go. pretty well and we expect "They pushed us back a bit in final since we have made of any openings that come their way. Their them to go for it in the final," the second phase of the first great efforts to be here. You ruthless performance against Mexico in the We’re looking forward to playing he said. half, which was to be saw our efforts in the semi- semi-finals should provide a useful tem- Chile again, because in the second "They will be going flat expected, and we gave up a final. We did a great job. Now plate for this plan. out to pull it off, as they are lot of ball. All in all, 4-1 is a we want to perform well What they need to improve half (of the group stage match) we coming to the end of their great result. against an opponent at the Avoid early slip-ups: Germany know had the feeling the draw was not season, and we will have to "We wanted to go far, but highest level and win the that they cannot afford an early lapse in try and counter that," he this is nothing that we could tournament." concentration in the match, as conced- enough. Now we have another added. have expected at the start of Pizzi said Chile expect ing another goal in the opening stages to chance against this top flight team: Loew added Mexico game the tournament," Loew said. Germany to hit them hard. a team that is proficient at holding on to Germany's Leon Goretzka was good preparation for the In the opposite camp, "We are preparing for a the ball could be calamitous. final. Chile coach Juan Antonio difficult match. We know Again, versus El Tri, it was clear that "From the beginning, we Pizzi knows his team has the they are confident about they are capable of focusing completely did exactly what we set out legs to last 120 minutes, if their abilities. We respect when they need to. to do – we were very dom- needed in the final. the German team. But in a Stop forwards from getting in behind: inant and brilliant in the Chile goalkeeper Bravo match like this, you need to The first match exposed the significant saved three times as his side give your maximum effort," difference in speed between the Chilean defeated Portugal in a pen- Pizzi said. attackers and the German defenders, espe- alty shootout to reach the "That is the only option cially when the former would smoothly final three days ago. for the final," he said. switch sides. The world champions must The Copa America cham- Pizzi praised the efforts ensure there is no repeat of this situation pions won 3-0 in the shootout of Bravo, the semi-final hero. in Saint Petersburg, although it will depend after the teams finished goal- "Even if you don't talk on the defensive formation they choose less following 90 minutes and about his wonderful qualities, to adopt. extra-time. he has made great contribu- "We are happy to be in tions in our victories over the Statistics from the first game: the final," Bravo said after years. He is always helping stopping the three the team," Pizzi said. Germany vs Chile penalties. What does Pizzi think of "This is very important to fans calling Chile one of the us because it's like complet- best teams in the world? Possession: 51%-49% ing a very important cycle," "It does not matter what Shots on target: 3-4 Bravo said as Chile prepared people say. We just want to Shots off target: 3-6 This combination of pictures created on Friday shows Chile's Spanish coach Juan for their third big football enjoy every day as we con- Shots blocked: 3-1 Antonio Pizzi (left) in Moscow on June 18, 2017 and Germany's coach Joachim Loew final.