St Petersburg: Germany coach Joachim Loew lavished praise on his young, experimental team after they beat Chile 1-0 in the final to win the Confederations Cup on Sunday.

Loew left behind players such as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller. Yet his side still managed to beat the Asian, African, Concacaf and South American champions on their way to lifting the title.

His team on Sunday had an average age of just over 24, compared to over 30 for Chile. Julian Draxler, who captained the side aged 23, was their most experienced player with 35 caps.

"I'm immensely proud of this team because they have been together for only three-and-half weeks," Loew told reporters. "You could actually feel in all of our training sessions, every single day, that something was happening out there.

"You could feel an unbelievable hunger for victory, both on the training pitch and during matches. So, it's well-deserved.

"The fact that these young players have won this tournament makes it a historic achievement. It's unique in Germany's history, it's outstanding."

The win came two days after Germany beat Spain 1-0 to win the European under-21 championship. "All the players who were in the squad were in a much better position than they were before," said Loew.

He added that the final was a bruising match as well. "Our team had to fight hard because the Chileans are very robust," he said. "We have been literally fighting for every single ball."

He also thought Chile defender Gonzalo Jara could have been sent off for elbowing Timo Werner in an incident which was reviewed by the referee using a video replay. "That could have been a red card because it was a blow in the face and if the referee sees something like that, he could have dismissed him," said Loew.

For captain Draxler, it was truly an unbelievable feeling. "Unbelievable," beamed Draxler, who won the Golden Ball, being the tournament's best player.

"We fought well and deserved this win. We hadn't played together before the tournament, which makes it even more valuable.

"Every title is special, but with this young team, it's even more so. Now we can all go on holiday and even take the trophy with us," he added with a grin.

Speaking of Draxler's performance, Loew said: "Julian is up to his job. He really took responsibility and was a very, very good captain. He has taken care of himself and with the young players around, has communicated a lot and thought for the team.

"This was a very good performance. It has been noticed that he leads the team. He has the mentality of a winner. I am very happy as its fun working with him."

After the recent success, Loew could feel like a kid in a candy store as he maps out his plans for next year's World Cup title defence in Russia. "Loew now has the big chance, with a mix of experience and dynamism, to put together a strong squad," said German Football Association (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel. "We have a big pool to chose from."

Loew, however, reminded: "For the youngsters, the big tournaments are still to come. To get to world-class level is an even bigger challenge."

Loew was also all praise for Russia, saying that the country managed to provide exclusive hosting conditions for visiting teams of the Confederations Cup and the German national football team appreciates such efforts.

"Thank you very much, Russia," Loew said. "I must say that you were the great hosts.

"We played in various cities and at various stadiums, and we were provided exclusive conditions everywhere. This was an outstandingly well organised tournament.

"Russia is a very interesting country. We met and spoke here with extraordinary and very good people. We really liked it here," he added.

This is the first time Germany, the defending world champions, have won the Confederations Cup in the eighth edition of the pre-World Cup tournament. "There was not much difference between the two teams," said Chile captain Claudio Bravo, voted the tournament's best goalkeeper. "We are sad not to have won, but we played against a world-class team and must learn from our mistakes."

Chile have promised to stay faithful to their adventurous approach which often threatens to blow their opponents away, but also leaves their own defence dangerously exposed. "Our game plan is always to have the initiative, to take the leading role, have control and create openings," coach Juan Antonio Pizzi told reporters after the final defeat.

"Our commitment in the future is to continue doing the same."

Pizzi admitted that poor finishing let them down in Russia. "Converting your chances is one of the most difficult things to do in football and when you take them, it completely changes the course of the game," he said, adding that his team did not know how to play any other way.

"Our game plan was what you saw from the start," he said. "We like to play this way and we believe it gives us a better chance.

"Putting opponents under pressure near their goal is also a way of defending. We prefer this to sitting back and playing on the counter-attack." (AGENCIES)