Joachim Loew hailed his rookie Germany team for securing a 1-1 draw with Chile in their Confederations Cup group match at the Kazan Arena.

Alexis Sanchez became Chile’s leading goalscorer when he capitalised on a defensive error to score in the sixth minute before Lars Stindl equalised later in the first half.

The Group B rivals – the reigning world and South American champions – only need a point apiece in their fixtures to reach the semi-finals.

“It was a very intense match, a match that was marked by strategical play and it was very demanding in that sense,” Loew said.

“We lived up to expectations and we were very disciplined for the entire 90 minutes. The key was to have a well structured defence.

“Even though we conceded a goal we were able to come back and even though this is an inexperienced team, they still played at a high level.

“Our players were perhaps a bit nervous in the first 10 minutes and perhaps had some difficulties and we made a mistake for the goal and that’s how they scored.

“But we recovered immediately and our goal was excellent, it was a model goal scored from a couple of passes.”

Today: Group A – 17.00 Mexico vs Russia; New Zealand vs Portugal.