Germany win Confederations Cup after 1-0 win over Chile in final

Germany goalkeeper Bernd Leno, right, makes a save next to Chile's Alexis Alejandro Sanchez, top and Charles Mariano Aranguiz Sandoval, left, during the Confederations Cup final soccer match between Chile and Germany, at the St.Petersburg Stadium, Russia, Sunday, July 2, 2017. [Photo: AP/Dmitri Lovestky]

Germany demonstrated their impressive strength in depth when their squad - lacking many big names - still won the Confederations Cup.

Their 1-0 final win over Chile wasn't their best performance of the tournament but it nevertheless demonstrated their resilience and ability to play on the break.

Chile will feel this was a final that got away as they missed a succession of chances - they had 22 shots to Germany's eight plus more possession and corners.

But the main talking point from the match wasn't the only goal or the performance of the two teams.

It came in the 63rd minute when Gonzalo Jara seemed to collide with Germany striker Timo Werner.

Referee Milorad Mazic from Serbia decided to use the video assistant referee (VAR) to check what had occurred.

After a four-minute delay in which pictures clearly showed Jara's elbow coming into contact with Werner's face, Mazic controversially decided to award the defender a yellow, not a red card.

The lone goal of the game came from a Chile error.

Marcelo Diaz turned into trouble on the edge of his own penalty area and lost possession to Werner, who unselfishly squared the ball to Lars Stindl for a tap-in.

The South American champions had created lots of chances in the first-half but were almost undone again by their own sloppy defending when Jara lost concentration, allowing Leon Goretzka to shoot but goalkeeper Claudio Bravo came to his side's rescue.

With five minutes left, Chile let another golden opportunity slip by, substitute Angelo Sagal spooning his shot high over the bar when he looked certain to score.

If anyone needed any reminders, Germany once again underlined that when the world's best reconvene in Russia for the World Cup finals in 12 months, they are almost certain to be around at the business end of that tournament as well.