Several changes were made for this second group match in the Euro Nations League.  The Germans would be formidable opposition, just what we didn’t need after the disappointment in Budapest.  And a nervous start by England didn’t help matters, as the Germans quickly took the initiative in the early stages.  In the first minute, Kai Havertz shot low, but Jordan Pickford was alive to it and gathered the ball well.  A minute later, a fine clearance from Kyle Walker, prevented what looked a certain goal.  Germany had started on the front foot, that’s for sure.

When England finally found themselves in a good attacking position after four minutes, they did their usual thing, by passing the ball backwards, eventually to Pickford. What was that all about? The lively start continued as Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane combined for the latter to fire in a shot.  Germany’s goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer made the first of several good saves to keep his side level.  An accidental collision in midfield saw Kalvin Phillips go down injured, and it looked serious.  He manfully tried to carry on before, moments later, reluctantly trudging off to be replaced by Jude Bellingham.  That was after just 14 minutes of a game which can best be described as fast and furious so far.  It was certainly to be a match when there could be no passengers in the England side, otherwise the Germans would take full advantage.

England were a little bit at sixes and sevens for a few minutes, but Pickford again did well to cut out a low cross from the right.  The referee was letting  some hefty challenges go unpunished in an effort to keep the game moving.  That is all very well but some of those challenges deserved to be punished.  When he did give a free-kick it was usually against England, for example, when Harry Maguire jumped cleanly to head away but was then pulled up for a foul.

In the 23rd minute, a long ball forward from the Germans found its way to Jonas Hofmann, who sped forward to calmly beat Pickford all ends up.  Thankfully the goal was ruled out for and offside decision, soon confirmed by VAR.  Three minutes later it was England who had a near miss.  Sterling won a corner, Maguire beat the keeper to scuff a header, and the ball dropped to Kane, who shot over the bar, with Neuer protesting vigorously that he had been fouled.  He hadn’t!

Players were going down like ninepins as first Kieran Trippier suffered an injury, and then Sterling went down, and both players looked the worse for wear as they tried to recover after treatment.  As the clock ticked round to 35 minutes gone, it was again noticeable how deep Kane was operating.  It seems that playing, effectively, with two players in the midfield, with another floating, is too easy to play against.  Especially, when players are not on top of their game, as both Bellingham and Mason Mount were struggling to make their presence felt.  Towards the end of the half, Joshua Kimmich sent over a free-kick, which was headed on dangerously, in the England goalmouth, and it was Kane, of all people, who cleared the danger.  Not completely cleared, though, and Havertz put in a shot well saved by Pickford.  All the earlier injuries meant the ref added on eight minutes to the first-half.  In that added time England had their two best chances so far.

Bukayo Sako first put in a fine effort which Neuer managed to get a strong hand to, pushing it away for a corner.  And then, shortly after, Sako was there again, cutting inside to curl a fine shot just the wrong side of the far post with Neuer, this time well beaten.

The half-time summary was that Kane was playing far too deep to be effective in the attack, Sterling was struggling with knock he received, Maguire and John Stones were safe at the back, as was Pickford, although the goalkeeper was careless with some of his clearances.  But the scores were still level at the break and time to regroup.

Just five minutes after the restart, Germany broke the deadlock.  After some good possession by them and some poor defending by England, it allowed Hofmann to pounce and fire a good shot past Pickford.  It was a disappointing start to the half for England and it seemed a long way back for them at the time.  However, immediately Mount forced another good save from Neuer, and then the Chelsea player was nearly through again, as he upped his game from his first half performance.  Another corner was won but that came to nothing for England.  Do they ever practice corners, I wonder?

The tiredness seen in Hungary suddenly gripped England and with Bellingham ineffective, surely it was time to give Jack Grealish another run out?  But no, a raft of German substitutions was the only movement from the benches.  Ten minutes later, Pickford kept England in it with a fine save from the evergreen Thomas Muller, and that finally prompted the belated change by Gareth Southgate.  Mount was taken off to be replaced, at last, by Grealish.  Immediately the mercurial Manchester City player was in the game, a great cross into the middle and Kane was within a whisker of an equaliser only to be thwarted by the ever more annoying Neuer!

The game was wide open at this stage and on 80 minutes Southgate took off Saka and brought on Bowen, who had made such an impressive debut in Hungary.  Now we were firing on all cylinders.  A minute later Sterling shoots narrowly over, and three minutes later nobody could quite believe how Bowen’s cross was kept out of the German goal after a scramble at the far post.  You had to give England credit for this late surge, inspired by Grealish and Bowen, and with two minutes of normal time to go they gained their reward.

At first it looked as though Kane was offside as the ball found him in the box, and when Nico Schlotterbeck brought him down from behind, not many thought about a penalty, apart from Kane.  The referee never gave it but was urged to look at VAR.  It showed there was a deflection off a German before it reach Kane, and the defender clipped his heel.  A penalty is signalled by the referee!  Up steps the ever-reliable Kane to bury the penalty past Neuer, giving the keeper no chance to save and scoring his 50th England goal, only the second player to do so.  In the four minutes of injury time Walker once again made a decisive interception and the creditable draw was secured.

It had been a strange game in many ways.  England had not been at their best but hung on in there, and but for Neuer, they might have scored a few more.  However, the same could be said at the other end where, apart from some of his clearances, Pickford had an assured game.  And I must say, before I write these reports, I don’t look at any others have written.  But when I saw the marks out of ten given to the England players in one paper, I could not believe the reporter gave Maguire just a four!  That was ridiculous, as the United player was a rock alongside Stones.  Just shows you how different people see it all so differently!  Full marks too, for Declan Rice, who worked his socks off, Kane, the master, and Grealish, who surely deserves a start in the next match.  We shall see.  However, once again we haven’t lost to the Germans.  Good game, this football, isn’t it!
   

Source Notes