Germany eased into the Confederations Cup final with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Mexico in Sochi.
Joachim Low's youthful side overpowered Mexico as Leon Goretzka's early brace and second-half strikes from Timo Werner and Amin Younes sealed a place in Sunday's final with Chile in St Petersburg.
Marco Fabian scored a fantastic late consolation goal for Mexico to briefly make it 3-1, but the world champions were too good.
Germany started the match on the front foot and needed only six minutes to take the lead after they counter-attacked to devastating effect.
A loose header from Hector Moreno was picked up by Goretzka, who instantly found the over-lapping full-back Benjamin Henrichs on the right wing. He returned the ball to the on-rushing Schalke midfielder to sweep into the bottom corner from 20 yards.
Germany did not waste any time in doubling their advantage, with the 22-year-old striking again two minutes later when he latched on to a Werner through-ball before sliding a composed finish past Guillermo Ochoa and into the far corner.
Werner should have done better when he was one-on-one with the Malaga keeper, while former Tottenham forward Giovani dos Santos went close on two occasions at the other end as Mexico eventually threatened.
Javier Hernandez somehow scooped the ball over from six yards as they maintained their pressure on the German defence.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen then had to tip Hector Herrera's free-kick over the bar to keep Mexico at bay before the break.
After the restart Raul Jimenez fired straight at Ter Stegen following a quick counter-attack, with Werner dragging his effort wide from a tight angle at the other end.
Germany captain Julian Draxler worked Ochoa with a free-kick before Germany moved further ahead in the 59th minute.
A flowing move from right to left resulted in Goretzka laying off the ball to Draxler, who threaded a pass to Jonas Hector and his cutback to Werner left the Leipzig man with a tap in for his third goal of the tournament.
Ter Stegen produced a great save to deny former Watford midfielder Miguel Layun before Jimenez went one closer by hitting the bar with a looping header, with Barcelona keeper stranded.
Ter Stegen was finally beaten when Fabian fired in a wonder strike from 30 yards to reduce the deficit with one minute remaining, but Younes popped up with Germany's fourth goal with a neat finish in added time.
Post-match reaction
Germany manager Joachim Low singled out goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen for particular praise as his young side reached the Confederations Cup final.
Low said in a press conference: "Marc made some wonderful saves. They had their chances and we had to run a lot. By no means was it an easy win. It was a really difficult game.
"It was a really intense match, because Mexico are technically very strong as well. But we did exactly what we had planned to do. The Mexicans always want to impose their game on their opponents and that's what we wanted to prevent from the start. We wanted to dominate early on and attack them.
"Our young players deserve credit for that. We got what we wanted, but you can't count on that happening before the game. It was a wonderful performance."
Captain Julian Draxler believes Leon Goretzka's goals in the sixth and eighth minutes settled any nerves his team-mates may have felt, with Germany being worthy winners on the night.
The Paris St Germain winger told ITV: "We started the game really well and after that things were easier for us. All in all, I think Mexico had a good game but we deserve (to be in) the final.
"We knew we had to play our game and we wanted to start it exactly how we did, so it was good that we scored two early goals and after that, we deserved to win.
"We were focused on our own game, we were concentrated and we wanted to have possession and I think all in all we did well, and like I said before, we deserve to be in the final.
"We have already played them in the group stage so we know they are strong, they are good. For me, they are one of the best teams in the competition so far, so they deserve to be in the final as well and I hope for all the fans that they will see a great final."
Mexico boss Juan Carlos Osario was disappointed with the heavy defeat as he felt his side were closer to Germany than the scoreline suggested.
He said in a press conference: "We knew it would be a difficult match. We deserved a better result. We had many opportunities and we have shown that we can get to their goalmouth but they were very efficient. We gave them too much room.
"But we should have scored at least one or two more goals. We had enough chances to do so. Even after conceding early on we had the mental strength to fight back.
"Our way of playing is very aggressive. We try to get forward all the time and we paid for that. They are fair winners but the scoreline would seem to suggest they were way better and I don't think that was the case."
