MY ACCOUNT
Harry Kane salvaged a point for England by scoring his 50th international goal with a late penalty in a 1-1 draw against Germany in Nations League Group A3 on Tuesday.
By slotting his spot-kick into the bottom-left corner in the 88th minute, Kane moved clear of Bobby Charlton and to within three of Wayne Rooney’s all-time England goalscoring record.
Jonas Hofmann put Germany in front early in the second half, the midfielder finding the back of the net for the second time in three international appearances.
However, Nico Schlotterbeck felled Kane in the box and the Tottenham striker stopped England succumbing to back-to-back defeats for the first time since 2018 with a milestone goal.
Thomas Muller was denied a tap-in by an important intervention from Kyle Walker and the Bayern Munich star had the ball in the back of the net in the 13th minute, though play was pulled back due to an injury to Kalvin Phillips.
Hofmann slotted home after Harry Maguire was caught out by Kai Havertz, but the goal was ruled out by an offside flag and the decision was upheld after a lengthy VAR check.
Kane wasted a rare chance for England in the 26th minute by blazing over when Manuel Neuer spilled a corner at his feet under pressure from Maguire.
Gareth Southgate’s side struggled to keep pace after the restart and fell behind when Joshua Kimmich picked out Hofmann, who drilled the ball past Jordan Pickford.
It would have been two had Pickford not managed to get a strong hand to Muller’s volley at the near post after an excellent delivery from David Raum.
Neuer produced a brilliant stop to keep Kane at bay with 15 minutes remaining but the England captain finally got the better of the Germany keeper from the penalty spot to earn the Three Lions a share of the spoils.
What does it mean? Kane closes in
By reaching 50 goals for England, Kane has now found the back of the net more times than all the other players in the Three Lions squad combined.
He is only the third England player to score three goals against Germany, joining Geoff Hurst and Michael Owen. However, he is the first to have achieved it by scoring in more than one game.
Kane could now feasibly draw level with Rooney before the end of this set of internationals next week.
Schlotterbeck’s night gets ruined
Schlotterbeck produced an accomplished display in the heart of Germany’s defence. He had more touches (111) and accurate passes (84) than any other player on the pitch, but his inadvertent trip on Kane gave away the penalty and cost Germany the win.
Not a Sterling display
On his 75th England cap, Raheem Sterling was a peripheral figure. He failed to muster a single attempt on goal and only registered one final-third entry.
Key Opta Facts
– England are now unbeaten in their last three meetings with Germany in all competitions (W1 D2), their longest run against them since their first eight games between 1930 and 1966.
– Germany have scored in each of their last 22 home games in all competitions (72 goals in total), since a goalless draw with France in September 2018.
– England’s 37 per cent possession against Germany was their third lowest in a competitive match under Gareth Southgate, after 27 per cen against Spain (October 2018, Nations League) and 35 per cent against Italy in the final of EURO 2020.
– Germany remain unbeaten in their 11 games under Hansi Flick, though each of their last three games have finished in a 1-1 draw (W8).
What’s next?
England host Italy at what will be an empty Molineux on Saturday in a repeat of the Euro 2020 final, while Germany are away to Hungary on the same day.
