Sanchez shoots his way to history

Gunners winger becomes Chile's all-time top scorer in Confed draw

KAZAN, Russia - Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez became Chile's all-time top scorer with his 38th international goal in Thursday's 1-1 draw with Germany at the Confederations Cup.

The Gunners star, named man of the match, wrote himself into the record books by capitalizing on an early mistake in the German defense.

"I'm very happy to be Chile's top scorer; now our dream is to win this tournament and we feel we have a chance," said Sanchez, who refused to discuss his Arsenal future.

Chile's Alexis Sanchez celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Germany during their Confederations Cup Group B match in Kazan, Russia, on Thursday. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Martin Meissner / AP

"We played well in the first half, but Germany adapted very well to how we were playing. Now we need to rest up for Sunday's game."

Lars Stindl netted his second goal of the tournament to equalize for the world champion just before the break.

"We knew they would come at us with a lot of pressure and power," said Stindl.

"But the result is not undeserved. We now know we can stand up well against great opponents."

The result leaves South American champion Chile atop Group B on goal difference ahead of Germany.

Both teams have four points, three ahead of Australia and Cameroon - who drew 1-1 earlier - and are poised to reach next week's semifinals.

Germany plays Cameroon on Sunday in Sochi while Chile faces the Socceroos in Moscow.

Despite leaving all his World Cup-winning stars at home, Germany head coach Joachim Loew still managed to name four of his first-choice team.

He started wingbacks Jonas Hector and Joshua Kimmich with Liverpool's Emre Can and Paris St-Germain's Julian Draxler, who all impressed in Monday's 3-2 triumph over Australia.

"Overall, I am very happy," said Loew. "It was a very high level match, and a tactical challenge for a young team like ours."

Chile boss Juan Antonio Pizzi started with an experienced side, including nine of the players who beat Argentina on penalties in the 2016 Copa America final.

"It was a very high-level game with two teams playing very aggressively going forward, which was very attractive for the fans," said Pizzi.

"Both teams are very ambitious, so sometimes they neutralized each other. The result reflects the high level on the pitch."

After its opening 2-0 win over Cameroon, Chile took the lead with just six minutes gone.

Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen harmlessly rolled the ball out towards Joshua Kimmich, but Kimmich's Bayern Munich teammate Arturo Vidal stepped in to deflect the ball into Sanchez's path and the striker fired home off the inside of the post.

"Unfortunately we went behind after a bad pass. That kind of mistake is punished, but the team's reaction was very good," said Loew.

"As the match went on, we moved forward with more and more boldness."

Despite Loew's positive appraisal, Chile could have gone up 2-0 when Eduardo Vargas rattled a shot off the crossbar in the 20th minute with Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen clearly beaten.

Despite the early scare, Germany regained its composure and pushed forward.

When Can broke into the Chile half, his pass to the left wing found Hector, whose hard, low cross was stabbed by Stindl past goalkeeper Johnny Herrera in the 41st.

It was Stindl's second goal in Russia, after he opened the scoring against Australia, to make it 1-1 at the break.

The midfield struggle intensified in the second half.

Vidal and Bayer Leverkusen's Charles Aranguiz shaded the battle with Germany's defensive midfielder Sebastian Rudy, who will also join Bayern next season, and Liverpool's Can.

With 20 minutes to go, Chile's Inter Milan midfielder Gary Medel limped off, replaced by Paulo Diaz.

Draxler was a strong figure for the Germans in the attacking midfield role, helping out in defense and constantly looking to create space for Stindl or Leon Goretzka.

Both sides had no more than fleeting chances to break the deadlock, with the group winners to be decided by the weekend's final round.

Agence France-Presse