A game on a different level

Germany play South American champions Chile in the Confed Cup on Thursday. Manager Löw demands that his side keep their composure over the 90 minutes.

Berlin – The second group-stage game of the tournament is the first real test for Marvin Plattenhardt and Die Mannschaft at the Confed Cup, when they take on Chile in Kazan on Thursday at 20:00 CEST. “Our opponents are definitely one of the best teams in the world, with fantastic individuals and they’re also able to adjust their tactics better than almost any other team,” warned Germany manager Joachim Löw. The South American champions have two of the world’s best players in the form of FC Bayern München’s Arturo Vidal, and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez. “The game will be on a different level,” assured Löw. “We know that we need to be focused against Chile, but we’re also a team with quality and we’re looking forward to the challenge,” said Hertha’s Plattenhardt, who is hoping for his first minute of action in the tournament. 

Chile won their opening game thanks to two late goals against Cameroon, winning 2-0. They therefore lead Group B, ahead of Germany on goal difference after their 3-2 win over Australia at the start of the week – a game in which Germany weren’t exactly in the driving seat for throughout the game. “We played a very good first half, combining with, linking up well and controlling the game. After 60 minutes we faded out and failed to create attacks that really threatened the goal,” remarked Löw, who criticised his men for their inability to take their chances as well as they should have. “We put a lot of effort into our runs up-front, but our only failure was that we only led 2-1, despite having created so many chances,” said the 2014 World Cup winning manager. “The three points are what’s most important, but we could have put the game to bed earlier on,” admitted Plattenhardt.