The match-up between England and Germany lived up to its billing as both teams played their final group games yesterday. With England already relegated from their group, they had to play for pride in front of their fans when they hosted eternal rivals Germany at the Wembley Stadium.
England started the quicker of both teams when Luke Shaw found Raheem Sterling with superb pass but the Chelsea man could not beat Ter Stergen at the back post. England captain, Harry Kane also had shots he pulled wide in the first half while Germany only came close to scoring when Joshua Kimmich long-range shot could not find the target.
The second half started with the Germans taking the initiative and the Video Assistant Referee intervened when Harry Maguire brought down Jamal Musiala in the box. Manchester City’s İlkay Gündoğan converted the resulting penalty in the 52nd minute. Moments later, Kai Havertz was able to double the lead with a wonderful strike outside the box after combining with Timo Werner in the 67th minute.
Two goals down in the mid-point of the second half England finally came alive and the comeback started with two goals in four minutes after Luke Shaw able to score at the back-post in the 71st minute and Mason Mount scoring in 75th minute. Harry Kane thought he had won the game for England when he scored an 83rd minute penalty but the Germans equalized through Havertz when England goalkeeper failed to deal with an initial shot.
Both England and Germany will now have their priorities set for the World Cup later this year. Gareth Southgate has more to worry about because he failed to win a single game during current Nations League but the game against Germany showed his team can play exciting football when everything is right.
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