ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Arturo Vidal and Chile want to be the unofficial world champions.
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Germany’s captain Julian Draxler speaks during a press conference in St. Petersburg Saturday. — Reuters[/caption]
It may be only the Confederations Cup on the line when Chile faces Germany in Sunday’s final, but the combative midfielder wants to claim the bragging rights over his German teammates at Bayern Munich.
It could be the third title in as many years for Chile’s golden generation of players. They racked up Copa America wins in 2015 and 2016, beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina in both finals, and defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on penalties in Wednesday’s Confederations Cup semifinal.
“We have proven our value on the pitch. We beat Argentina, which is one of the best teams and a few days ago we beat Portugal, the European champion,” Vidal said. “So tomorrow, if we win we will be the best team in the world.”
Fatigue could be an issue for a Chile team that has played eight games in a month and went to penalties against Portugal, but Vidal hopes the will to win can make up for any tired legs.
“Our fuel reserves never run empty,” he said. “Today we are ahead of the final and the pleasure is a unique situation in football.”
Sunday’s final will pitch youth against experience, with an experimental Germany side taking on a Chile team that has kept the same key players for several years.
Still, the Germans are wiser than their years, Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi said.
Pizzi picked out Joshua Kimmich, “who despite being so young is a central pillar of one of the best teams in the world. Shkodran Mustafi was in the German side at the last World Cup.”
“I could go on with the list,” Pizzi added. “While it is true that because of their age they can seem like beginners or youngsters, they have a lot of experience despite their youth, and that makes them a formidable opponent.”
Germany coach Loew is not a huge fan of a the eight-team event that acts as a dress rehearsal for the subsequent year’s World Cup and he opted to rest many of his first-choice players for the Russia tournament rather than shorten their off-season.
Among those missing are Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, Manuel Neuer and Marco Reus as Loew opted to take a team made up of young hopefuls keen to gain valuable tournament experience with 2018 in mind.
And Loew got more than he bargained for.
While a title against the South American champion, which would be Germany’s first in this competition, would be more than welcome, Loew is more interested in preserving team spirit ahead of the showdown in St Petersburg.
“The boys are having fun, they are hungry for success,” Loew told reporters. “You can really feel that. I think what we are seeing is the creation of a team here.”
It is this team spirit that has carried the Germans through the tournament after Loew’s squad selection initially raised eyebrows with the team having never played together before.
“Chile are the strongest opponents in this tournament, we know them pretty well and we expect them to go for it in the final,” added Loew, whose team drew 1-1 with the South Americans in a group stage encounter.
“They will be trying flat out to pull it off, as they are coming to the end of their season, and we will have to try and counter that.
“We know the Chileans are flexible in their game. They have been pursuing their own style for many years now, a very good and positive development.”
Portugal without Ronaldo for Mexico playoff
European champion Portugal will have to make do without captain Cristiano Ronaldo as it seeks the consolation of a third-place finish in Conderations Cup play-off against Mexico.
The Real Madrid star was excused from the squad following Wednesday’s penalty shootout defeat to Chile in the semifinals, returning home to meet his newborn twins.
The 32-year-old, who already has a seven-year-old son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, from a previous relationship, is believed to have fathered the twins with a surrogate mother in the United States.
Portugal is often accused of relying heavily on Ronaldo, but it claimed its first major title without its injured talisman when it beat France 1-0 after extra-time in last year’s Euro 2016 final.
Borussia Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro is also missing for Portugal through injury, but veteran defender Pepe returns after he was suspended for the Chile clash.
