Germany vs. Chile: What we learned

1. Back five bonanza

Joachim Löw's decision to play three central defenders and two wingbacks didn't appear as effective as was perhaps planned. While having three men at the back certainly seemed a sound plan for handling Chile's front three, Germany struggled to play their way around Chilean pressure in the first half. Focus and organization were slow to arrive, Shkodran Mustafi the main source and reason Germany were down a goal early on. Germany's shape improved in the second half as the threat of their opponents subsided somewhat. Considering how the evening started, Germany's defensive talents - notably Matthias Ginter and Niklas Süle - can be pleased with how much they likely learned. Afterwards Joachim Löw even admitted how tactically challenging the set-up was for the young lads.

2. Stindl

In his first game of the tournament, his goal (and performance) seemed a bit like an outlier, a rare chance for a more old-fashioned player to shine, but another goal against Chile suggests that Lars Stindl could well be around longer than perhaps even he imagined. Löw has made no secret of the fact that over the years he has often turned to formations without a clear striker and Stindl appears the perfect option in this case. His link-up play was solid, his workrate unquestionable and he scored (again). Afterwards Löw said that Stindl was an intelligent player with good orientation in space. So does that make him Germany's Raumdeuter 2.0, behind Thomas Müller? While every World Cup squad needs a striker or two, Löw might want Stindl in his as well.

3. Important to remember what this means for future

Every time Germany play, the analysis is extensive and holes are always picked. And this Germany performance was far from perfect, as point one proves, but it was also from a side with little international experience, little experience playing together and under a new captain. The total number of caps in the starting XI was just 145, and when you consider more than a third of those belong to Jonas Hector (29) and Julian Draxler (30) then it's clear how fresh this so-called "B team" really is. And yet, the average age of the starting XI was 24. Löw might not like this tournament, but he's making the most of it. This is Germany's second wave of talent and a draw against a high-quality Chile side shows just how far they've already come.

4. Experience noticeable in its absence

The quality of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal added that extra bit of spark to Chile's collective efforts, but it also reminded Germany of the talents they left out of Russia this time around. Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Manuel Neuer, Mesut Özil, Toni Kroos - to name but a few - are all enjoying a summer off. Not only can Germany afford to give them time off, but they feel confident in doing so too.