England

2022 - 9 - 26

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Image courtesy of "Irish Examiner"

England show their character but quality remains an issue (Irish Examiner)

Gareth Southgate's under-pressure England came from 2-0 down against Germany to lead 3-2 before a late Nick Pope error led to an equaliser from Kai Havertz.

But there’s no doubt there was a subdued atmosphere despite a sell-out in north London and a nervousness, especially at the back, from Southgate’s side which hardly helped ignite enthusiasm. But England survived , just about, and so did Southgate — at least for now. Southgate’s team arrived at Wembley having failed to score a single goal from open play in a competitive fixture since beating San Marino 10-0 in November last year, despite the talent available to him. This is a team which has scored goals for fun in the past and which has shown a hunger and steel at tournament finals which was missing in the past. But somehow, with bookmakers already drawing up odds on who the FA would choose as Southgate’s replacement, the magic briefly returned. Shaw’s scrambled effort crossed the line, Mount’s flashing shot levelled and Kane’s penalty put them ahead.

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Image courtesy of "The42"

England head to the World Cup after thrilling draw against Germany (The42)

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.

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. 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. 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.

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Image courtesy of "BreakingNews.ie"

Trent Alexander-Arnold absent for England's Nations League game ... (BreakingNews.ie)

The 23-year-old was an unused substitute against Italy on Friday.

AC Milan centre-back Fikayo Tomori, Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse and West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen joined Alexander-Arnold in being left out of the squad list published by UEFA. “I think he’s a fantastic footballer and he of course adds, as a lot of the other players do, different qualities to the game,” Southgate said on the eve of the game. Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has been left out of the squad for England’s final match before the World Cup.

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Image courtesy of "Eurosport.co.uk"

England 3-3 Germany: Gareth Southgate's side roar back in six-goal ... (Eurosport.co.uk)

England and Germany played out a six-goal thriller at Wembley. Germany were 2-0 up after goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Kai Havertz, but Luke Shaw, Mason Mount ...

The forward smashes his penalty into the top-left corner past Ter Stegen into the top-left corner of the net! Some good work from Saka down the right sees him play the ball into the area for Mount to strike, and the Chelsea man drives a powerful strike into the net past Ter Stegen! Shaw is in a pocket of space and chests the ball down, before hitting a scuffed strike into the net despite Ter Stegen getting a hand on it! The Arsenal man then plays the give-and-go back to James and the wing-back whips a delivery towards the back post. Saka is on the overlap and then gets the ball from his team-mate on the right hand side. It then is played from midfield towards the left half-space for Werner, and the forward opts to cut inside onto his right foot and he picks out Havertz just outside the box to his right.

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