Sanchez to face Germany but still no Bravo

Juan Antonio Pizzi is prepared to start Alexis Sanchez against Germany but the Chile boss says Claudio Bravo is short of fitness.

Alexis Sanchez has been passed fit for Chile's second Confederations Cup Group B game against Germany on Thursday. An ankle problem meant the Arsenal star could only manage a second-half appearance in their 2-0 opening win over Cameroon but head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi says he has been given the all-clear by the medical staff. Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo remains short of fitness following a calf issue, however, and will not return to the side. "Alexis is available," Pizzi told a news conference. "He showed he could play without problems and he recovered after a couple of days. He trained and didn't have any pain. "The doctors and physios are the ones who decide whether the players can play or not and they've said he can play. "Claudio won't play. For me, the fact that he is here is really important. He's a captain and a point of reference in this group. He's improved quite a lot, he's recovering and he's doing what the doctors told us. "He's been a bit more active in training sessions and we hope he will be able to play soon." Pizzi denied the suggestion Chile's demanding style of play makes it more difficult for players to stay fit during tournaments. "We're very well prepared," he said. "I've said so before. Since 2014, our team has more or less being playing with players who play a lot for their clubs. They played the World Cup and two Copas America, so they're making a huge effort to be here now. "But I think we've prepared everything well. I think we're fit enough for the tournament. The way we play means, of course, that the team has to make sacrifices so they are tired after games, but they're all very strong players and they recover very quickly." Many have described Chile as the favourites to win Thursday's encounter at Kazan Arena given the youthful squad selected by Germany boss Joachim Low, but Pizzi believes such an exercise is pointless. "I've said before that, when people say we're favourites, I don't really care about that. These words are not so important in football. It doesn't change what we have to do," he said. "It doesn't matter if it's an official match or a friendly; it doesn't matter if we're playing against hard opponents or nations who are a little smaller. We always try to play the same and win every time. "All teams have strengths and weaknesses and we need to find a way through. We need to consider that they're really good in attack as well. They're a great team. "German players are always very talented, they have great technique, they're good physically and their tactics are amazing. Although they're quite young, they have the same spirit that we've seen in Germany teams for the last 15 years." Follow breaking news, entertainment news, politics, sports, comedy,tech, browsing cheat, join this Whatsapp group