SOCHI, June 26: World champion Germany reached the Confederations Cup semifinals on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over a Cameroon side reduced to ten men after further confusion with experimental video replays.

Germany was leading through Kerem Demirbay’s 48th-minute strike when a case of mistaken identity halfway through the second half that replays were meant to eradicate left the African champions bemused and irritated.

Sebastien Siani was dismissed for a foul challenge on Emre Can after referee Wilmar Roldan inspected a pitch-side monitor.

It took furious protests from the Cameroon players, including Siani sarcastically applauding Roldan, for the Colombian to check the monitor again and discover he had sent off the wrong player. Siani was called back on and Ernest Mabouka was correctly sent off.

“The referee did not give any explanation,” Cameroon coach Hugo Broos said through a translator. “It’s a foul, fair enough but both players had their legs high up to reach the ball. I don’t understand why only my player received a red card.”

Germany extended its lead two minutes after the red card courtesy of a diving header from Timo Werner. There were flickers of a comeback by Cameroon when Vincent Aboubakar’s flicked header slipped through Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s raised hands. But Werner netted again in the 81st minute to secure a 100th victory for Joachim Loew in his 150th match in charge of Germany.

By securing top spot in Group B of the World Cup warm-up tournament, the inexperienced Germany squad playing without many of its 2014 World Cup winners will now stay in the Black Sea resort of Sochi and play Mexico on Thursday.

The other semifinal on Wednesday sees Portugal play Chile, which finished second in Group B after drawing 1-1 with Australia in Sunday’s other game.

The Germans will have to display greater urgency against Mexico than they did in the first half against Cameroon. Loew’s side was wasteful, with wing back Joshua Kimmich sending a diving header wide, and largely restricted to attacking down the flanks.

Ter Stegen prevented Cameroon going in front, with the goalkeeper’s one-handed save blocking Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s hooked shot across goal at the end of a nervy first-half for the Germans.

“Some of my players have no experience and were nervous because one mistake could have eliminated us,” Loew said through a translator. “It’s good to see how we were able to … up the ante.”

Taking the lead in slick fashion. Julian Draxler fed Demirbay with a back-heel through Siani’s legs and the midfielder marked his first international start by slicing a shot into the top corner with his weaker right foot.

Cameroon goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa prevented Germany from extending its lead by blocking Kimmich’s shot from a tight angle.

Then came the red-card confusion, swiftly followed by Germany’s second goal. Werner evaded Adolphe Teikeu to meet a cross from Kimmich and open his international account with his stooping header.

The blunder by Ter Stegen for Cameroon’s goal should concern Loew. It was the latest by a Germany goalkeeper in the World Cup warm-up tournament. Bernd Leno was also at fault for Australia’s two goals in Germany’s 3-2 victory in its Group B opener.

But Werner restored Germany’s two-goal cushion. The striker whose goals propelled Leipzig to a surprise second-place finish in the Bundesliga turned a cutback from Benjamin Henrichs into the net.

“He has a killer instinct,” Loew said.

Cameroon leaves Russia early and might not be back next year, given its struggles in qualifying.

“We are one of the best teams in Africa but there is still a difference between us and modern football,” Broos said. “We see the proof of that, that there’s a lot still to be done.”-AP

SOCHI, June 20: The learning curve facing an inexperienced and experimental German side became clearer to coach Joachim Loew after they were given a fright by Australia at the Confederations Cup on Monday.

It wasn’t just goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s two blunders but the way Germany eased off in the second half that bothered Loew. Still, Germany held on to open its Group B campaign with a 3-2 victory in Sochi.

“Who would expect it to be perfect?” Loew said through a translator. “This is a team that never played together so we have done a lot of work over ten days.”

For Loew this eight-team World Cup warm-up competition is merely a stepping stone on the path to defending the title won in Brazil in 2014.

“We were losing our thread, our attacks were not as consistent and we weren’t single-minded,” Loew said. “We need to work on maintaining our stability … but this is a new team and things have worked very well.”

Only two members of Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning squad started the game in Sochi and, while the team was dynamic going forward, it was vulnerable at the back.

Lars Stindl marked his tournament debut with a goal after five minutes that was canceled out by Tommy Rogic when the Australia forward fired the ball under Leno.

Julian Draxler, an unused substitute in the 2014 World Cup final win over Argentina, restored Germany’s lead from the penalty spot before halftime.

Although Leon Goretzka extended the German lead three minutes into the second half, another blunder by Leno ensured it was a nervy conclusion to the game in the Black Sea resort. A shot from Rogic through a crowded penalty area was spilled by the Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper and Tomi Juric stabbed the rebound into the net.

The Australian threat persisted but Germany clung on to collect three points in the Fisht Stadium, where around 20,000 seats were empty.

“We invested a lot in the first half and ran a lot,” Germany defender Joshua Kimmich said. “So in the second half, Australia had a bit more possession but I didn’t think they had a lot of opportunities and chances.”

Australia is taking the trip to Russia far more seriously, bringing a full-strength squad unlike Germany. Contrary to assertions from coach Ange Postecoglou before the game, the Australian side was marginally older than its opponent.

Germany’s rawness wasn’t obvious at all early in the game when a goal was created after only five minutes. Stindl exploited vast gaps in the center of the pitch to advance unchecked to meet a cutback from 21-year-old winger Julian Brandt.

At 28, Stindl is the second oldest player in the squad. The oldest tried to join him by also scoring his first tournament goal, but Sandro Wagner’s diving header was off target.

So much of Germany’s threat was coming from the right flank where Brandt and Kimmich were given space to unsettle Australia

The gulf in quality was clear, and yet the callow Germans discovered the perils of not killing off a game.

Australia was posing no threat when Draxler gave the ball away around the halfway line, leading to the equalizer against the run of play. Rodic’s shot came off defender Shkodran Mustafi and he followed up with a shot that went under Leno.

Parity, though, was only in place for around two minutes. Goretzka was brought down by Massimo Luongo’s sliding challenge in the penalty area and Draxler made amends for his early sloppiness by restoring Australia’s lead from the spot.

It was extended further three minutes into the second half. Kimmich threaded the ball through to Goretzka to beat Ryan at his near post.

While Kimmich showed much promise, Leno demonstrated that he’s far from being a contender to replace 31-year-old Manuel Neuer in the German goal when it really matters for the world champions.

“He could have held on to that ball but he is a good goalkeeper no doubt about it,” Loew said. “Maybe that was a mistake.”-AP

MOSCOW, June 19: Alexis Sanchez came off the bench to set up both Chile’s goals in a 2-0 Confederations Cup win over on Sunday — but the video assistant referees were the real stars.

Crowded in front of screens in a darkened room, they disallowed a goal for Chile’s narrowly offside Eduardo Vargas just before the break, then awarded Vargas a goal in similar circumstances late on.

With the video review system getting its first airing in a major FIFA tournament, it brought plenty of tension, but also confusion and bitterness.

Arturo Vidal’s 81st-minute header from a Sanchez cross finally gave Chile the lead, before Sanchez set up Vargas in added time for the second.

Chile missed several early chances despite clear dominance over defensive-minded Cameroon, but thought they’d taken the lead in first-half stoppage time when Vidal passed the ball to Vargas, who slotted the ball past Fabrice Ondoa.

Referee Damir Skomina awarded the goal and Chile’s players started an elaborate goal celebration, but the decision was then sent for video review.

Players milled about in confusion, some briefly appearing to think the referee had blown for half-time, and Chile’s many traveling fans struggled to understand what was going on.

The review found Vargas offside by a matter of inches, enraging him and Vidal, who angrily complained to Skomina when he blew for half time.

“After the first half we could’ve been up 1-0, and 20 seconds later, the players go to the locker room tied at 0-0,” Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi said.

“It’s disheartening, and we’re not used to the emotions that this situation generates, so we have to give it some time to see how it develops”.

That seemed to dent Chile’s confidence, and Cameroon became more adventurous, at least until Alexis Sanchez — coming off the bench following an ankle injury in training — crossed for Vidal to head in at the far post.

Chile made it 2-0 in added time, when Sanchez charged through the Chilean defense, but saw his shot saved by Ondoa, only for Vargas to score the rebound. A lengthy review found Sanchez hadn’t been offside when he received the ball.

Despite watching his team concede on a video review in its first Confederations Cup game since 2003, Cameroon coach Hugo Broos was enthusiastic about the system.

“Of course if they go overboard with these types of situations, it could turn into a circus. But in this case I think it was useful and very important,” he said.

“If you have these situations several times in each match, then it won’t be very comfortable for the players.”

South American champion Chile may have fumed at the first video review, but its players also had themselves to blame in a first half packed with missed chances.

Cameroon was under pressure immediately, when Eduardo Vargas’ first-minute shot cannoned off the post and rebounded back into Ondoa, almost going in.

Ondoa had to palm away a Jose Fuenzalida shot two minutes later as Chile took firm control.-AP

With Cameroon’s defense playing narrow and ceding the flanks to Chile, Ondoa was also called upon to block a shot from Edson Puch, while Vargas blazed the ball over the bar in the 40th minute.

Cameroon’s chances came thanks to occasional poor passing at the back from Chile, with Vincent Aboubakar forcing a save in the 11th from keeper Johnny Herrera, in for the injured Claudio Bravo.

The Cameroonians got the ball in the net once, but the whistle had already gone for a foul on Vidal, by the time Michael Ngadeu Ngadjui headed the ball into the net from a 17th-minute free kick.

At the start of the second half, Cameroon started to push forward, though without creating clear-cut chances.

Cameroon captain Benjamin Moukandjo curled a free-kick narrowly off target in the 67th, while Chile had another chance when Mauricio Isla’s header went narrowly wide at a corner.

Still, the focus was on FIFA’s men in front of the video screens — and Cameroon midfielder Sebastien Siani said players will just have to get used to it.

“Sometimes we lose time” waiting for rulings, and sometimes they don’t go your way, he said, but “it’s football now, we have to accept it.”

KAZAN, June 19: Title contenders Portugal and Mexico fought out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the Confederations Cup on Sunday, with each team scoring in the last five minutes.

Portugal looked set for a late win when Cedric Soares scored with a deflected shot in the 86th minute, but Hector Moreno equalized for Mexico with a header in stoppage time.

Cristiano Ronaldo, coming off a tumultuous week off the field, had set up Ricardo Quaresma’s opening goal for Portugal, and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez hit Mexico’s equalizer just before halftime.

“It’s not the result we wanted, we had the game almost won,” said Ronaldo, who was voted the man of the match. “But we are not worried, there are two games left, we still have chances. There is no reason to be concerned, we have to think about the next match.”

The result left European champion Portugal and Gold Cup winner Mexico trailing host Russia in Group A. Russia opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday.

Soares’ goal had to be confirmed by video review but it eventually stood. Portugal had a first-half goal by Nani disallowed after a video review, when the game was still scoreless.

“In the end it was a well-deserved result after how we played today,” Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. “We faced the European champions, a team that plays at a very high level, and we played equal to them. It was a great result for Mexican football.”

Mexico controlled possession and spent more time in Portugal’s area, but the Euro 2016 champions were a constant threat on the counterattack in front of 34,372 fans at the Kazan Arena.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos said it was not the performance he expected from his team.

“We know we didn’t play well,” he said. “Mexico was better, more aggressive. We played without confidence, couldn’t connect two or three passes. It was a fair result for how the teams played.”

Ronaldo played well and made the first goal but did not score.

He attracted headlines last week after being accused by a Spanish prosecutor of defrauding the country’s tax authorities. A report by a Portuguese newspaper two days before Sunday’s game said that the Madrid forward had made the “irreversible” decision to leave the Spanish club because he was upset with the allegations.

He skipped the post-match press conference which he was supposed to attend as the man of the match. The team said that he couldn’t go because he was receiving post-game treatment, although it said it wasn’t anything serious.

Ronaldo made a great run from near midfield to set up Quaresma’s 34th-minute goal.

Ronaldo carried the ball into the area but was surrounded by three defenders and he passed it to Quaresma, who was free from markers on the far side of the box. The veteran forward used one touch to clear goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and then easily found the open net.

Mexico equalized less than 10 minutes later with a close-range diving header by Chicharito after Portugal defender Raphael Guerreiro failed to clear a ball crossed into the area. Mexico midfielder Carlos Vela got to the ball near the far post and sent it to the middle of the area for Chicharito’s goal.

“We wanted to win, of course, but we have to be satisfied with this result against the European champions,” Chicharito said.

Soares scored late with a right-foot shot from inside the area after Mexico midfielder Hector Herrera gave the ball away, and Moreno’s equalizer came with a firm header from close range after a corner kick one minute into injury time.

Ochoa made a great diving save in the 85th to keep young Portugal forward Andre Silva from scoring with a header.

Nani’s 21st minute goal was disallowed by video assistants because a Portugal player was offside in the build up to the goal.

There were concerns that the match could be suspended after warnings from FIFA against homophobic chants by Mexican fans, but they were only heard a couple of times during the match and did not cause any disruption.-AP

ST PETERSBERG, June 18: Hosts Russia eased to a 2-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday in the opening match of the Confederations Cup, a tournament seen as a test for the country before it stages next year’s World Cup.

Midfielder Denis Glushakov flicked the ball over goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic in the 31st minute as New Zealand defenders rushed back to try to clear it off the line. New Zealand’s Michael Boxall got a touch on the ball and was credited with an own goal.

Scoring chances came early for Russia, playing with confidence and unexpected flair, a powerful header by defender Viktor Vasin bouncing off the inside of the post before being cleared by New Zealand’s Michael McGlinchey.

Marinovic kept his team in the match early in the second half with back-to-back saves, diving to punch away a header by Dmitry Poloz before scrambling to his left to smother a rebound attempt by Aleksandr Erokhin.

But weak defending allowed Russia’s Fedor Smolov to slip past the New Zealand defence and tap in a low cross by team mate Alexander Samedov in the 69th minute.

World champions Germany and the champions from FIFA’s six confederations are competing in the two-week tournament that will allow Russia to test its football infrastructure in four of the 11 cities hosting World Cup matches.

Russia, a record low 63rd in FIFA’s world rankings, face Portugal on Wednesday and New Zealand play Mexico the same day.