England vs Germany: Player ratings and analysis as Pope and Maguire struggle in six-goal thriller at Wembley

England 3-3 Germany (Shaw 72′, Mount 75′, Kane pen 83′ | Gundogan pen 52′, Havertz 67′, 87′)

WEMBLEY STADIUM — Well, how do you make sense of that one, then? Gareth Southgate, his players and a packed-out Wembley went through the full spectrum of emotions on Monday night: optimism after a promising first-half faded into desolation after two quickfire Germany goals, transformed into euphoria after an epic second half comeback followed by deflation after a late equaliser. All six goals packed into a whirlwind second 45 minutes.

Firstly, let’s deal with the negatives. England’s winless run has extended to six matches, Nick Pope had a horror show on his second consecutive appearance as Jordan Pickford’s understudy and Harry Maguire failed to justify Southgate’s faith in him by playing a key role in Germany’s opener and a big part in their second goal.

Now for the positives. This was the most purposeful and dangerous England have looked in some time. The Harry Kane x Raheem Sterling double act showed signs of life. Southgate’s substitutes made a big difference, Bukayo Saka setting up Mason Mount for England’s equaliser. And perhaps most pleasingly of all, the goalscoring curse from open play was finally lifted after 522 minutes. Inevitably, after such a drought, two came along in the space of 160 seconds.

Before kick-off, there were familiar moans and groans about Southgate’s squad selection. The England boss has often struggled to accommodate Trent Alexander-Arnold at the best of times even when he’s been on song and his name was not among the chosen 23; more puzzling given his form and influence on a Scudetto-winning AC Milan side was Fikayo Tomori’s omission. A decision made more questionable by Maguire’s torrid evening. Ivan Toney failed to make an appearance again and must be questioning quite why he was called up in the first place.

More from Football

Fans need to accept that England are a counter-attacking team lacking a playmaker like Modric26 September, 2022Football fans spark brawl in Wembley pub before England's Nations League match against Germany26 September, 2022Newcastle United consider £50m bid for 'the Ukrainian Neymar' to bolster attacking ranks26 September, 2022

Last week, Southgate launched a vehement defence of Maguire, describing him as “one of our best” and vowed to stake “his reputation” on the Manchester United defender. Maguire followed up by suggesting that media criticism of him is “just for clicks”. After a nervy showing in the San Siro, both Southgate and Maguire needed a stress-free, comfortable evening in England’s final contest pre-Qatar. Unfortunately, the opposite occurred.

Maguire lost the ball on the edge of his own box, was nutmegged by Jamal Musiala and then fouled him inside his own box five minutes after the restart. Ilkay Gundogan dispatched the penalty to compound his misery. Maguire might have been an undisputed England regular for the best part of five years but given his inclusion has suddenly become a major talking point, he is essentially starting from scratch all over again.

That desire to prove Southgate right was evident when he meandered forward only to lose the ball again – this time on the edge of Germany’s penalty area – and watch on forlornly as Kai Havertz made it two. At the moment Maguire can’t do right for doing wrong.

At that stage, it looked as though this game would be defined by the United defender. But then out of nowhere, England willed themselves back into the game. Luke Shaw, another contentious pick given his lack of minutes under Erik ten Hag brought them back into it with a volley that squirmed over the line via a touch from Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

And not long after, it was 2-2, Saka and Mount combining for a genuinely excellent goal. Saka, cheered onto the pitch by supporters who voted him their England Player of the Year, darted into space, leaving German bodies in his wake as he went, before teeing up Mount to score a superb first-time curling effort from the edge of the area. The noise almost lifted the Wembley arches off their hinges.

Player ratings

England (3-4-3): Pope 3, Stones 6 (Walker 6), Dier 6, Maguire 3, James 6, Bellingham 8 (Henderson N/A), Rice 7, Shaw 7, Foden 6 (Saka 7), Sterling 7 (Mount 7), Kane 7

Germany (4-3-3): Ter Stegen 6, Kehrer 6, Sule 5, Schlotterbeck 5, Raum 6 (Gosens 6), Kimmich 7, Gundogan 7, Hoffman 6 (Werner 5), Musiala 7 (Muller N/A), Sane 6 (Gnabry 6), Havertz 8 (Bella-Kotchap N/A)

Kane looked to have capped an improbable turnaround from the penalty spot after Jude Bellingham had been felled in the box. Like Musiala, Bellingham had to wait for the referee to review the incident on his touchline monitor before being granted the decision he craved. A rare good night for VAR and off the back of his last two performances, Bellingham might just have played himself into Southgate’s XI for the World Cup opener against Iran.

But there was a sting in the tail. Pope, who exuded nerves throughout, spilt a low shot from distance into Havertz’s path and the Chelsea forward tapped it beyond him. Pope might have just promoted Aaron Ramsdale to the position of second in command to Jordan Pickford.

Even though three points evaded England, there was more room for encouragement here than in their previous five matches of a truly wretched Nations League campaign combined. It would have been the perfect way to win a football match, but it wasn’t a bad way to draw one either.

from Football | News and analysis from the Premier League and beyond | iNews https://ift.tt/AyuapKP