The Premier League had big name representation with Arsenal team-mates Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez appearing for Germany and Chile respectively.
But it was Borussia Monchengladbach’s Lars Stindl who scored the only goal into an empty net in the 20th minute after Chile midfielder Marcelo Diaz gave the ball away on the edge of his own penalty area and Timo Werner squared the ball.
Chile, playing with their trademark high octane style and driven forward by another relentless display by Arturo Vidal, dominated the match but were let down by poor finishing.
There was a controversial incident involving video technology in the second half when Chile defender Gonzalo Jara elbowed Timo Werner by the touchline.
Serbian referee Milorad Mazic initially missed the incident, was alerted to it by the video assistants and then let Jara off with a yellow card instead of showing a red.
Former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon said on ITV: “If you look at sports that use VAR (Video Assistant Referees) – we’re the laughing stock.
“This tournament has been a shambles as far as VAR is concerned. I was joking, ‘I bet he gives him a yellow’. It’s not even a red, it’s a purple, it’s obvious.”
There was late drama deep in stoppage time when Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen dived to push away an Alexis Sanchez free kick.
The win could be a bad omen for Germany, however, as no team has ever won the World Cup after lifting the Confederations Cup the year before.
