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:
Gareth Southgate insists he is the right person to lead England into World Cup
Under-fire Gareth Southgate remains convinced he is the right person to lead England into the World Cup and confident that the team will click in Qatar.
Having reached the semi-finals in Russia four years ago and finished runners-up at last summer’s European Championship, the Three Lions are among the favourites to lift the trophy this winter.
But things have gone awry at just the wrong time for England, who suffered the ignominy of relegation from the Nations League top tier with a game to spare following Friday’s 1-0 loss in Italy.
Southgate was booed by some of the travelling support at San Siro after a fifth winless match, which ratchets up pressure and scrutiny with the World Cup opener against Iran looming large on November 21.
Gareth Southgate insists he is the right person to lead England into World Cup
England have gone five games without a win following their 1-0 loss to Italy
Kane vs Germany
Harry Kane has scored in all three of his appearances for England against Germany (three goals in total) and is the Three Lions’ joint top scorer against the Germans alongside Geoff Hurst and Michael Owen.
Only three players have faced a specific opponent on more occasions with England scoring in every game; Tinsley Lindley vs Ireland, Jimmy Greaves vs Northern Ireland and Wayne Rooney vs San Marino (all 4/4).
Southgate wants fans in full voice
When England line-up against Germany at Wembley tonight Gareth Southgate is hoping that supporters will get behind the players regardless of their feelings about him and his tactics.
“We’ve got 90,000 people, the stadium’s sold out. People want to come and see this team play, that’s because the players have done an unbelievable job for six years.” he said,
“We were on the back of a really difficult time, in terms of the relationship with the fans, at the start of that journey. Slowly we’ve built the (tournament) finishes. Of course it’s not healthy for the team to be having this noise around them. I fully understand that.
“But it’s for me to take responsibility, it’s for me to allow them to go and play. I want them to feel the freedom. I think they know that we always talk about that within the training ground and on the training pitch.
“I would urge the supporters to get behind the team. How they deal with me at the end or whenever, on the phone-ins or whatever else, is completely different.
“But this is their last chance to see the boys before they go to the World Cup and we’re all in it together. We can only succeed if we’re all pushing in the same direction and we’ve all got that positive energy towards doing well.”
Harry Kane urges England fans not to panic despite pre-World Cup slump
Harry Kane has told England supporters there is no need to panic over a slump in results ahead of the World Cup.
Gareth Southgate’s side have not won any of their last five competitive matches and were relegated from League A of the Nations League following a 1-0 loss in Italy on Friday night.
Having reached the final of Euro 2020 last summer, the drop-off in results and performances has been a stark one, highlighted by the fact Kane’s penalty in an away draw to Germany is England’s only goal in five Nations League games this year.
Despite the worrying nature of the recent decline, Kane believes the team can still come good when the World Cup kicks off in Qatar in November.
Harry Kane urges England fans not to panic despite pre-World Cup slump
The Three Lions play Germany on Monday night as they look for a morale boost ahead of the World Cup
Southgate under pressure
England face Germany on Monday night having gone five games without a victory for the first time since 2014 having also failed to score from open play in more than eight hours, with Harry Kane’s penalty against the Germans their only goal in the past five games.
Gareth Southgate led England to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and a first European Championship final in 2021 but his position as manager is coming under increased scrutiny due to this recent run of bad form.
Although Southgate has the Football Association’s support, he was booed by some England supporters during June’s 4-0 thrashing by Hungary at Molineux and by the supporters who travelled to Italy on Friday.
A victory tonight over Germany would go a long way to easing the pressure on the England boss as well as rebuilding belief that the Three Lions can have another exciting World Cup campaign.
Germany’s success on the road
Germany are unbeaten in each of their last eight away games in all competitions (five wins, three draws).
They last enjoyed a longer such run in November 2011 in a run of 26 matches.
Indeed, each of Germany’s last three away contests have ended in a draw; they’ve never previously drawn four in a row on the road before.
Will England lose back-to-back home games?
England’s 4-0 defeat to Hungary in their last home fixture was their first such loss since October 2020 against Denmark (1-0).
Not since November 2013 have they lost consecutive home games in all competitions, losing 0-2 to Chile and 0-1 to Germany.
Gareth Southgate calls for unity, with England future dependent on World Cup success
Gareth Southgate has admitted that the World Cup will decide his future as England manager, despite a contract that runs until Euro 2024.
The 52-year-old is currently on his worst run during six years in the job, a spell that has been accompanied by criticism and significant supporter unrest. Southgate urged the Wembley crowd to “support” the team ahead of the last match before the World Cup, a final Nations League game against Germany in a group that has already seen England relegated. The manager insisted that a sense of togetherness and support was the best way to get the players performing with freedom, in a period where they have scored only once in five games.
It summed up the mood, though, that Southgate ended up addressing his future. His current contract is now primarily based on tournament performance, with two notionally left on this deal. Southgate nevertheless admitted that was “irrelevant”.
Southgate calls for unity, with England future dependent on World Cup success
Relegation from the Nations League will quickly be forgotten if the Three Lions impress in Qatar
Germany looking to bounce back
Against Hungary last time out, Germany suffered their first defeat under Hansi Flick and their first since a 2-0 loss to England at Euro 2020, ending their 13-game unbeaten run in all competitions (with nine wins and four draws)
They last lost back-to-back matches in October 2018 vs Netherlands & France, both in the Nations League.
England vs Germany team changes
Gareth Southgate makes two changes to the England team that lined-up against Italy on Friday night. Kyle Walker drops out for John Stones and Bukayo Saka is replaced with Luke Shaw.
England look to be setting up with a 5-2-3, or if you’re more attacking minded a 3-4-3, formation against the Germans.
Hansi Flick meanwhile makes four changes to the German side. Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala, Thilo Kehrer and Kai Havertz all come into the line-up with Timo Werner, Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry and Antonio Rudiger dropping out.
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