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England were held to a breath-taking 3-3 draw by Germany in the UEFA Nations League on Monday, September 26. The result saw the hosts rooted to the bottom of League A Group 3 with just three points.
The hosts came into this contest on the back of a dismal run of form in the group stages. Out of their five games, they drew two and lost three, and were the only team in the group without a win. Gareth Southgate's men lost 1-0 to Italy in their last game and have been eliminated from the group stages. However, he fielded a strong lineup for this game.
Wembley Stadium held a minute's silence in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II prior to kick-off.
England began the game in good spirits, passing the ball around with authority and making strong challenges. Harry Kane and Nico Schlotterbeck fouled each other in the early exchanges which set the tone for the game. The hosts' wingers looked sharp receiving the ball to their feet and did well to turn their markers inside-out.
Raheem Sterling had the first big chance of the game as he drove forward with pace. However, he cut onto his weaker left foot and attempted a shot which Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved with relative ease. He had another chance late in the first period as Kane put him through on goal. Sterling attempted another weak effort that was saved.
England suffered a setback as John Stones went down injured for a lenghty period and was replaced by Kyle Walker. Despite Germany keeping more of the ball and completing a greater number of passes, England had better chances in the first half. They were slightly unlucky heading into the break at 0-0.
England made a dreadful start to the second half as they saw themselves fall a goal behind within the opening 10 minutes. Jamal Musiala made his way into the hosts' penalty area after Harry Maguire gave the ball away. Maguire then brought him down to concede a penalty which the visitors converted to make it 1-0 after 52 minutes. All of England's work in the first half was undone by one error.
Their troubles compounded 15 minutes later as Kai Havertz doubled the visitors' lead after 67 minutes. Southgate made a double change and brought on Bukayo Saka and Mason Mount in a bid to turn the tie around. His decision proved to be magical for England as both contributed in their side's quickfire turnaround.
First, the two full-backs combined to cut Germany's lead down to one as Reece James assisted Luke Shaw to make it 2-1. The two substitutes then got in on the act as Saka provided an assist for Mount, who smashed the ball past ter Stegen to make it 2-2. VAR then awarded the hosts a penalty, which Harry Kane converted to send the fans into raptures.
However, Havertz struck his second goal of the night in the 87th minute to make it 3-3. England had a late opportunity to win the game as Saka found himself in a one-on-one situation against ter Stegen. He could only manage a tame effort with his weaker right foot as the game ended in a draw.
That said, let's take a look at how the hosts' players fared.
England Player Ratings
Nick Pope - 5/10
Pope had fairly little to do in the first half as Germany failed to register a shot on target. He had a second half to forget as he made just one save. He did, however, make one error that led to a shot and another one which led to a goal for the visitors.
John Stones - 6.5/10
Stones looked composed at the heart of England's defense and passed the ball around well. However, he was unlucky to suffer an injury that put an end to his evening in the 37th minute.
Eric Dier - 7/10
Dier was solid in England's back three. He won five of his six duels and made four clearances and two tackles. He also played one accurate long ball.
Harry Maguire - 6/10
Maguire was a commanding presence at the heart of England's defense, making key clearances to prevent active goal threats. However, all his work in the first half was undone as he gave away a clumsy penalty in the second period.
Reece James - 7/10
James made key overlapping runs as he helped his side attack from wide areas. He won six of his 11 duels and made one clearance and two tackles. He provided an assist for England's first goal.
Luke Shaw - 7.5/10
Shaw looked sharp from the get-go as he drove forward with the ball in the early stages. His efforts were rewarded as Shaw was in the right place to convert an inch-perfect pass from James to score.
Jude Bellingham - 7.5/10
Bellingham played with a sense of comfort as he combined well with his teammates. He passed the ball with 91% accuracy, including one key pass and one long ball. He attempted three shots, with one on target and the other two going wide. He also won a penalty for his side.
Declan Rice - 7/10
Rice dribbled the ball well to create space for his teammates to attack. He passed the ball with 95% accuracy, including two accurate long balls. Rice also won seven of his 10 duels.
Raheem Sterling - 6/10
Sterling looked sharp as he received the ball and made a few quick half-turns into open space. He had the first big chance of the game but saw his shot saved by ter Stegen. He attempted a total of three shots on target but failed to put significant power behind any of those.
Phil Foden - 7/10
Foden made several runs behind the defense and looked lively in attack. He passed the ball with 81% accuracy, including two key passes, three crosses and one long ball. He also won three of his four duels.
Harry Kane - 7/10
Kane stuck out an elbow to bring down Schlotterbeck in the first minute and was lucky to get away without a booking. However, he ended up being England's savior yet again as he scored a late penalty to make it 3-2.
Substitutes
Kyle Walker - 6/10
Walker came on for the injured Stones and played a decent game.
Bukayo Saka - 7/10
Saka came on in the second half and provided an assist for England's equalizer.
Mason Mount - 7/10
Mount came on just after the hour-mark and scored with a thumping shot to make it 2-2 after 75 minutes.
Jordan Henderson - N/A
He came on in second-half stoppage time and did not play enough minutes to warrant a rating.
