Confederations Cup 2017: Joachim Loew praises Russia's tournament hosting abilities ahead of World Cup

Saint Petersburg: Germany’s Confederations Cup-winning coach Joachim Loew and FIFA president Gianni Infantino have led the calls for giving Russia the seal of approval to host next year’s World Cup. Lars Stindl’s first-half goal in Sunday’s final sealed Germany’s 1-0 win over Chile, bringing down the curtain on the 2017 Confederations Cup, a warm-up for next year’s World Cup finals. This could be the last Confederations Cup in it’s current format— Infantino has said the competition is under review — but the fortnight-long tournament proved Russia can host a World Cup. [caption id=“attachment_3760817” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Germany coach Joachim Loew . AP[/caption] With less than a year to go before the World Cup that starts on 14 June 2018, fears of racism and hooliganism blighting the Confederations Cup proved to be unfounded. “We had been hearing before this tournament about a lot of ‘problems’ we would experience here,” said Infantino. “If a problematic tournament looks like this one, well, I want to have many problematic tournaments going forward,” he quipped. Germany’s head coach Loew warmly praised the hosts after his inexperienced squad, minus their World Cup winning stars, came of age to beat Chile. “Many thanks to Russia, you have been great hosts in the different cities where we have played,” said Loew. Loew added, “We have seen excellent conditions at the stadiums, this has been brilliantly organised and we’ve met some outstanding people along the way.” The 16 matches passed off without incident off the field and the main talking points were the controversial testing of the video assistant referee (VAR) and Cristiano Ronaldo’s performances for Portugal. The Real Madrid superstar produced three man-of-the-match performances, but left the tournament when Portugal lost their semi-final to Chile, jetting off to be with his new-born twins rather than help beat Mexico in the third-place play-off.  VAR in spotlight  The VAR received a mixed reception, but Infantino has described it as “the future of football”. Infantino admits the system needs refining and FIFA will decide whether to use it at next year’s World Cup. The system largely removed blatant refereeing mistakes, but led to some disruptions during matches. “The VAR is a very positive tool for the sport as it helps referees avoid committing mistakes,” said legendary former referee Pierluigi Collina, now chairman of FIFA’s Referees Committee. “We are aware we can improve, but it would be very surprising after so few matches if it was perfect.” The system is not error-free. After Chile’s Gonzalo Jara elbowed the Confederations Cup’s top-scorer Timo Werner in the face during the final, a scene reviewed by the VAR, Jara was booked. Off the pitch, allegations of doping in Russian football again emerged during the tournament, but the local organising committee (LOC) said they have shown Russia is ready. “For Russian football, this tournament has been unprecedented in many ways,” said LOC boss Alexey Sorokin. “It has allowed us to watch beautiful football and dispel many concerns people may have had about large-scale events here.” Security was extremely high at all four venues in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi — seven more will be added for next year’s World Cup. ‘Flying colour’  To enter the stadiums and fan zone, fans had to pass safety checks, including bags being x-rayed and the use of metal detectors, typical of those found at airports. There was an extra layer of security as supporters had to register their details and present a Fan ID, bearing their picture, with a match ticket to be allowed into the stadiums. Given the tradition of Russian supporters coming to games late, there were reports of some Fan ID centres at venues being overcrowded just before kick-off. With an average of 30,000 spectators per match in the group stages, most venues were around two thirds full — apart from the Russia matches which were played to packed houses. Apart from the odd grumble about heavy traffic in St Petersburg and Moscow, which delayed teams on the way to training, coaches and players alike praised the venues, logistics and facilities in Russia. “They say that the Confederations Cup is a dress rehearsal for the World Cup. After three weeks here, we can say that Russia has passed that test with flying colours,” said Germany’s winning captain Julian Draxler.