England v Germany LIVE: Nations League result, final score and reaction as Three Lions draw thriller
England 3-3 Germany: Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Harry Kane turned a 2-0 deficit at Wembley into a 3-2 lead before Germany equalised late on
England head to the World Cup buoyed by a rousing comeback against Germany but a late error by Nick Pope meant under-fire Gareth Southgate’s side had to make do with a 3-3 draw at the end of a frenetic second half.
Among the favourites to triumph in Qatar having reached the semi-finals four years ago and finished runners-up at last summer’s Euros, hope and optimism has seeped away in recent months. England were relegated from the Nations League top tier following Friday’s loss to Italy and pressure looked set to increase on Southgate, and Harry Maguire, after Ilkay Gundogan’s penalty and a stunning Kai Havertz strike.
But the hosts displayed the kind of resilience and ruthlessness their manager called for in the build-up in front of a sold-out Wembley crowd that did not turn on the group. Luke Shaw scored England’s first goal from open play in this Nations League campaign to bring hope, with substitute Mason Mount lashing home a leveller eight minutes after they had gone two goals behind.
Wembley was bouncing and the noise went up several notches when Harry Kane slammed home an 83rd-minute penalty following Nico Schlotterbeck’s foul on Jude Bellingham, but there was to be no return to winning ways. Havertz tapped in after back-up goalkeeper Pope spilled a Serge Gnabry shot, meaning England go to Qatar without a win in six but boosted by a much-needed show of skill and spirit.
Relive the action from Wembley as England take on Germany:
England 0-0 Germany
18 mins: Germany win a free kick just outside the England penalty area but it’s whacked straight into the chest of Harry Kane who makes the block from the middle of the wall.
England clear the danger then press up the pitch and try to pin the Germans inside their own half.
England 0-0 Germany
15 mins: Luke Shaw is in trouble as Jamal Musiala and Jonas Hofmann combine on Germany’s right wing. Hofmann sneaks in behind but Harry Maguire is quickly across to block his pass out for a corner.
The set piece is defended well by England but Germany recover the ball. They’re happy to build up slowly and England ease off them preferring instead to hold their defensive shape.
England 0-0 Germany
12 mins: Close! Nick Pope dallies too long with the ball at his feet and he gets charged down. He manages to scoop the ball to the edge of the box but the Germans lay it off to Ilkay Gundogan who fizzes a first time effort just over the crossbar!
That could have been costly for the home side.
England 0-0 Germany
9 mins: Eric Dier deals with a German cross and nods it behind for the first corner of the game. David Raum sends it deep towards Kai Havertz but he’s tackled by John Stones who immediately kicks start another counter-attack.
Sterling’s pace brings the ball down the left side but he loses it as he attempts to cut inside onto his right foot.
England 0-0 Germany
6 mins: These early stages have seen Germany dominate the ball but England have been disciplined enough to press and harry them.
Phil Foden is slipped in on the counter-attack after a sliding tackle knocks the ball to him in midfield. He drives through the middle before sending it out to Harry Kane on the right side.
Raheem Sterling also makes a run into the box but neither he nor Foden can get on the end of Kane’s cross into the six-yard area.
England 0-0 Germany
3 mins: Luke Shaw sprints forward and lunges into a tackle on Jamal Musiala. He comes away with the ball and flicks it up to Raheem Sterling but Sterling’s first touch is shocking and the ball bounces away to Jonas Hofmann.
Germany’s attack doesn’t last long as England recover possession.
Kick off: England 0-0 Germany
There’s a minute’s silence before kick off out of respect for Queen Elizabeth II.
Joshua Kimmich then gets the ball rolling and Germany boot the ball down the right side where it’s cleared by the English back line.
England vs Germany
Here come the players!
Harry Kane leads England out onto the pitch at Wembley. The national anthems are sung and kick off is up next...
England vs Germany
The warm-ups are over and kick is fast approaching. How will England fare tonight? Can they defeat Germany at Wembley once again?
Pre-match thoughts of Harry Kane
Harry Kane spoke to Channel 4 before kick off and addressed England’s lack of goals over the last five games saying: “We need to be more clinical. We got into really good areas [in Friday’s game against Italy] but didn’t have the final pass, run or finish. In these big games those are the fine margins.
“It [not scoring] has been frustrating for sure. I love scoring goals, as do all attacking players. We just haven’t been able to do that well in an England shirt. We’ll keep our heads down and keep working hard.
“It is great to see all the fans here. We’ll want to start well and we’ll need to play well on the ball first and foremost and goals create happy fans so it is our aim.
“Germany are a great team so it will be tough. We need to play our own game and go out there and try get a good result.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments