England in ‘good place’ for World Cup after battling Germany draw, says Harry Kane
Goals from Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and a Kane penalty had put England 3-2 ahead before Kai Havertz’s second sealed the draw
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Your support makes all the difference.Harry Kane admitted England have been feeling the pressure of their poor recent performances but thought they were vastly improved in the 3-3 draw with Germany at Wembley.
The Three Lions fell 2-0 behind after Harry Maguire gave away a penalty which Ilkay Gundogan converted, and then the much-maligned defender gave the ball away in the build-up to a fine Kai Havertz strike.
But goals from Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and a Kane penalty put the hosts 3-2 ahead before goalkeeper Nick Pope’s error gifted Havertz a second to deny England a win in their final match before the World Cup.
“A lot better,” Kane told Channel 4. “I thought we played really well, we were unfortunate to go 2-0 behind, it was a mistake and then a great goal from the edge of the box.
“We did really well to stay in the game and to get back into it, got into the lead and then unfortunately another error.
“The mentality and fight of the team was shown out there today. We didn’t get the win but we can be proud of what we did and it puts us in a good place ahead of the World Cup.”
Kane’s spot-kick, given after a foul on the impressive Jude Bellingham, was his 51st goal for his country.
“It was nice to score, obviously,” he added. “There always seems to be a few pressure penalties here at Wembley but it was nice to see that one go in and just a shame we couldn’t get the win but we keep going.
“We’ve all been under pressure with recent results. We scored three goals and it puts us in a positive mindset.
“I’m proud of the boys and now we have a busy six weeks or so before we get ready for the World Cup.”
Boss Gareth Southgate preferred not to focus on the mistakes.
“I think as a group they’ve really come together this week, they’ve grown. This week we’ve learned a huge amount,” he told Channel 4.
“A couple of errors have cost us the goals but they played with terrific spirit and a belief that we haven’t shown in the last few games.”
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