Full time: Germany 1-0 England
Peep peep! That was a decent night’s work for England, despite the scoreline. They lost to a screamer from the retiring Lukas Podolski but played some sophisticated football and were the better team for plenty of the game. The 3-4-2-1 system worked well, and Alli and Lallana were outstanding in everything apart from their finishing. Thanks for your company; goodnight.
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88 min Schurrle drags a good first-time effort just wide of the far post. In fact it nicked off the boot of Stones, which is why it went wide. Germany have been a lot better in the second half.
85 min This minute’s substitution: John Stones for Chris Smalling.
84 min Lukas Podolski takes his leave as an international footballer, to be replaced by Sebastien Rudy. He went out in the grand manner with a magnificent goal.
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84 min England have a lost a bit of impetus in the last few minutes. The substitutions don’t help. Here are two more: James Ward-Prowse (another Southampton debutant) and Luke Shaw replace Jake Livermore and Ryan Bertrand.
81 min “I know I write in all the time to talk about Romario but that goal is really something else,” says Phil Podolsky. “It gave a 10-year-old me a clear notion of what is talent, after I was obsessively trying to reproduce it on the playground for months.”
I love that it was against Real Madrid, too. It’s fascinating how often the greats save their highest peaks of genius for the toughest opponents.
78 min Bertrand’s cross is only half cleared to Lingard, whose snapshot from 15 yards is blocked by a defender. That was a chance. Bertrand has had a good game tonight.
77 min Another Germany change: Timo Werner off, Thomas Muller on.
73 min Hart makes a terrific save from Sane. Keane made his first mistake of the night, misjudging a bouncing ball and allowing Sane to burst clear in the inside-left channel. He got into the box and cracked a low shot across goal that was almost behind Hart when he plunged to his left to keep it out. That’s a seriously good stop.
71 min Marcus Rashford is on for Jamie Vardy, and Jesse Lingard has replaced Dele Alli.
Lukas Podolski, on his farewell appearance, has given Germany the lead with a stunning goal. Schurrle laid the ball off to him 30 yards from goal; he touched it to the side and screamed an unsaveable rising drive into the top right-hand corner. It’s his 49th goal for Germany, and it was a belter.
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GOAL! Germany 1-0 England (Podolski 69)
Oh my goodness!
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67 min Dier is fouled 70 yards from goal, springs straight to his feet and clips the free-kick over the top. Vardy’s pace is too much for Rudiger but he just can’t pull the ball down on the stretch.
65 min An England change: Nathan Redmond, making his international debut, comes on for Adan Lallana. And Germany bring on Emre Can for Julian Weigl.
63 min A fine move from England: Alli crunches a lovely pass out wide to Walker, who slips in the underlapping Lallana. His first-time clip across the box is deflected behind for a corner.
62 min The substitute Schurrle goes on a glory mosey from the right wing, eventually lacing a good effort from 20 yards that flies just wide of the far post.
61 min This is not a night on which to draw conclusions, good or bad, about England. But the one thing we can say, and which bodes well, is that they have been fun to watch. That sure isn’t always been the case.
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60 min An England corner breaks to Alli, whose shot is desperately smothered by Hummels.
59 min The first substitution: Andre Schurrle for Julian Brandt.
58 min “I think Lallana has one of the best first touches in world football, outside of the truly elite players,” says Matt Dony. “The way he regularly kills a ball and turns in one action is amazing. It just doesn’t lead somewhere quite often enough. I’m a big fan, and I’m very happy to have him at Liverpool, but he’s one of those players who always promises just a tiny bit more than he delivers. (See also: Arsenal 2009-present.)”
57 min Germany have been much better going forward since half-time, and as a consequence it feels like a goal is coming at one end or another.
55 min Another chance for England. Dier stumbles through the Germany defence, taking advantage of a couple of ricochets to strike an excellent cross shot from a narrow angle that is superbly saved by the diving ter Stegen.
54 min Kroos clips a glorious short-range pass over the top of the England defence, where the stretching Podoslki can’t connect with an attempted close-range volley. Moments later, Podolski’s shot is deflected for a corner.
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53 min Livermore curves a ball down the right for Vardy, who easily beats Hummels for speed. His cross is deflected towards Alli, who arrives late but can’t connect properly with a left-footed volley on the stretch.
50 min A snappy one-touch move from England. Eventually Lallana crosses towards Vardy, and Rudiger heads behind for a corner.
49 min “Are you adopting a policy of not publishing all the emails commenting on the greater fluidity, pace and cohesion of the post-Rooney England?” says Geoff Wignall. “Or is it simply so taken for granted that it doesn’t elicit comment?”
The latter.
48 min A miserable punch from Hart goes straight to Brandt, whose left-footed howitzer from inside the D swirls fractionally wide of the left-hand post.
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Advance apology. There will be a lot of substitutions in this half. If I miss one, sue me.
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46 min Peep peep! Germany begin the second half, kicking from left to right.
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“Is Lallana maybe not quite clinical enough to be a top-rated player?” says Neil Hattersley. “I like him a lot - but would he get a start for e.g. Chelsea?”
I know what you mean. There is so much to like about him - Ryan Giggs just came out with a nice line on ITV about Lallana “setting traps” before nicking the ball high up the pitch - but he’s not a killer. I do think he’s becoming more efficient under Jurgen Klopp though, and I’d always have him in the England team.
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“Not to rain upon the parade – well done all around and all that – but Germany are notorious for not taking friendlies serious,” rains Andreas. “Just ask the Argentinians: they beat Germany in the last three friendlies and got kicked out of the last three World Cups for their trouble. And Jogi Löw has taken this to a whole new level, handing out debuts like vaccinations and having already said that he will be using the Confed Cup to “experiment”. And let’s face it – this is not even a friendly, this is a vehicle for Podolski, who’d never even play under different circumstances.”
Oh it’s okay, having an open-top-bus parade for winning a friendly is so 2016. We’ve changed now.
“You’ve got to feel for Podolski,” says Charles Antaki. “All dressed up, house decorated, bunting out, favourite mixtape in the cassette player, and along come some much cooler kids and take the party over. He might as well be back playing for Arsenal.”
Half time: Germany 0-0 England
England should be ahead; they aren’t. But they have played well, with Dele Alli and Adam Lallana very lively. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
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45 min Weigl smacks an ambitious long-range shot well wide of the far post.
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43 min England look much sharper and hungrier than Germany, which I suppose is a qualified compliment given the status of the game. They have played really nicely going forward.
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41 min Alli misses a great chance! Germany lost the ball in their own third, with Bertrand and Vardy working the ball quickly from left to right to give Alli a clear shooting chance. He was 15 yards from goal but hit it too close to ter Stegen, who spread himself to make an excellent save. “He’s got to score,” says ITV’s ever excellent co-commentator Glenn Hoddle. “It’s not good enough just to hit the target from there. You’ve got to pick a spot.”
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40 min Dier took the free-kick - and sidefotted it a few yards over the bar.
40 min Scotland have equalised against Canada. You probably want to know about that England free-kick, don’t you?
39 min Alli, the best player on the pitch so far, is fouled just outside the area by Rudiger. It was a bit of a soft free-kick but it’s in a great position for England.
37 min A couple of scares for England: Brandt’s cross hits the arm of Cahill inside the area, and then Hart is almost dispossessed by Werner while dealing with a backpass. Hart got himself out of trouble with a Cruyff turn in the end. It could easily have been a penalty against Cahill, who leaned into the ball when it hit his arm.
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35 min “After booing the German anthem, England fans do their 10 German Bombers bit,” says Dave Hickey. “How predictably tasteless.”
What’s the point? Of anything, but specifically war-themed banter like that.
33 min Alli beats Hector on the right wing with a wonderful piece of skill - the same glue-on-the-boot drag used by Romario in his legendary goal against Real Madrid. Hector did not have a solitary clue what day it was.
31 min: Lallana hits the post! It was all his own work. He intercepted a poor pass by Kimmich towards Rudiger on the halfway line, stabbed it past him and set off. He had to run half the length of the field with the ball but had enough pace to keep ahead of the defenders. Eventually he got into the box and place a low left-footed shot that beat ter Stegen and bounced off the far post.
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30 min “So far no game for those of us in the U.S. due to technical difficulties at ESPN so please do extra good describing for us,” says JR in Illinois. “Instead I am watching Scotland v Canada. Canada is winning 1-0. Oof.”
29 min Weigl is off the field receiving treatment. He hurt himself in a 50/50 with Dier. Actually Weigl went slightly over the ball, a poor challenge, and injured himself in the process.
28 min Keane waves a nice pass over the top for Alli, who gets behind the defence on the right of the box and hits a cross that is headed behind by Rudiger.
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27 min “Is Michael Keane the first Burnley player to debut since Martin Dobson v Portugal in 1974?” says Harry Williams. “(Yawn.)”
It’s a no from me. He’s the first outfield player from Burnley to play for England since Martin Dobson though.
26 min Lallana’s outswinging corner is headed towards goal by Dier, with Ter Stegen making an easy save. He scored the winner in Berlin a year ago from a right-wing corner; this time he was under pressure and couldn’t get any power on the header.
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24 min There’s a breezy enterprise to England’s attacking, exemplified by Alli and Lallana. There are still medium-term areas of concern, particularly when it comes to the spine of the team, but the love handles of Walker, Rose, Lallana and Alli have a lot going for them.
23 min Alli coaxes a really imaginative deep cross to Walker, who just keeps the ball in play and lobs it to far post on the stretch. Lallana does well to pull it down under pressure before Weigl clears.
23 min “Of course, the only problem with having Millings in charge of England is, every team selection will be more influenced by some overarching theme (possibly music-related) than current form,” says Matt Dony. “Good news for, say, John Rolling Stones. Less so for plain Gary Cahill.”
22 min It’s a bit of a quiet spell, the football equivalent of the boring middle overs in a one-day international cricket match.
19 min “That Vardy pen shout sums up why players often dive,” says Hugh Molloy. “It’s clearly a foul, even if Vardy hurdles the keeper cleanly because he has to jump to avoid being taken out. Vardy, however, knows he won’t be given the foul so his only option is to try to manufacture contact.”
Yes, fair point, although the players who cheat are partially responsible for that refereeing reluctance.
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18 min Germany are coming into the game a bit more, with Weigl and Kroos having plenty of touches in the centre of midfield. Weigl looks so good for a 21-year-old, especially as he plays in a position that usually demands maturity.
16 min A loose ball breaks to Podolski, who whacks a shot against the legs of Keane from 20 yards. I do hope he intends to shoot every single time he gets the ball tonight; I know I would.
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15 min Vardy plays a good through pass towards Alli, who doesn’t quite have the pace to get there before Hummels. Meanwhile, a superb stat from Clive Tyldesley: Jake Livermore is the first outfield player from West Brom to play for England since... Steve Hunt in 1984.
14 min Vardy looks really sharp. When he’s in this mood he must be such a pain in the arse to play against. I suppose he is also fresh after missing the first six months of the season.
12 min Germany have their first extended spell of possession. England are compact defensively, with nine behind the ball. Alli and Lallana appear to have the freedom to swap sides whenever the mood takes them. It’s not a bad system, this 3-4-2-1. The two behind the striker have a lot to do creatively, though.
10 min “Podolski and his friend Klose really are a bit of what England need aren’t they?” says David Hopkins. “Solid but unspectacular most of the time then world-beaters come tournament time.”
8 min Alli’s superb cross towards Vardy is put behind for a corner. Bertrand cracks a low outswinger that is dummied smartly by Vardy at the near post and thrashed just over the bar by Keane. He caught that very well and might have scored. This has been a really good start from England.
6 min Alli turns smartly and plays a good ball through to Vardy, who beats Ter Stegen to the ball and then dives pathetically. The daft thing is that it probably was a foul - Vardy got to the ball first and Ter Stegen dived across the line of his body - but the absurd dive distracted from that.
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5 min Dele Alli swaggered all round Berlin when England beat Germany 3-2 a year ago. It’ll be interesting to see how he plays in this new England system, one that he knows well from Spurs.
4 min “Evening Rob, my duck,” says Phil Sawyer. “I’ve just got off the phone to my dad. Now, my dad was born during WW2 and has not been backward in coming forward about his Brexit tendencies (in that awkward family dinner kind of way that can only be solved by your mother interjecting chirpily ‘So, anyone for pudding?’). However, even he was more interested in chatting about my mum’s recent bout of chicken-pox than the prospect of an England match against Germany. That’s how low we’ve sunk. When even the Brexit generation can’t be bothered to get worked up about an England performance. I blame ... (consults list) ... Mac Millings.”
If Southgate doesn’t work out, it’s surely time to go rogue and appoint Millings as England manager.
3 min Nothing to report so far. Keane has had a couple of good nerve-calming touches.
2 min “As you allude to, there’s been a surprising amount of success against Germany in Germany,” says Matt Dony. “Most notably, that magnificent ‘Germany 1 - 5 Liverpool’ scoreline from the halcyon days of 2001. I’m gonna listen to Amnesiac.”
Is this it.
1 min Peep peep! The game kicks off seven minutes later than advertised. England, in their new midnight blue (sic) kit, are kicking from left to right. Germany are in white.
“Seriously, can we start the game now?” says Lee Dixon on ITV. The ceremony is over, so now it’s time for the national anthems.
Now Podolski is giving a speech to the crowd. The England players, who have been standing in a line since this ceremony started a few hours ago, are starting to look a little restless.
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The players are out in the middle. There is a long tribute to Lukas Podolski, who is playing his 130th and last match for Germany. He played a huge part in reviving German football after the embarrassments of the early 2000s (when they also managed to reach a World Cup final).
The last time England lost against Germany in Germany was 1987. Football was a bit different then, as is demonstrated by Peter Reid’s contribution to Gary Lineker’s goal.
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“I think Waddle had a spontaneous rant after England went out of one or other tournament some time back, saw that it became very popular, and now seems to look forward to any forthcoming tournament for the chance to ‘spontaneously’ react that way again,” says David Wall. “Of course, the criticisms he makes tend to contradict those he made the last time, but consistency doesn’t seem to be necessary for popularity.”
I blame Twitter.
Gareth Southgate’s pre-match interview “Our first thoughts are with the families of those who have lost their lives and been injured. It puts football into perspective. We’re conscious that part our of identity as a nation is that we carry on in moments like this, and it’s important we represent our country in the right way tonight.”
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An email “Interesting to see that Southgate is using the friendly to experiment with a different formation, and some players who don’t normally feature.,” says David Wall. “In particular, on the radio last night almost all of the pundits were saying he should try out using three centre halves, as he appears to be planning to do. Do you think those same pundits will cut the team some slack if they lose or don’t immediately look like world-beaters, or if it was just a ruse to allow them to draft their copy, and plan their criticism early (looking at you Chris Waddle)?”
I don’t listen to the radio much but I always thought Waddle was great. He hasn’t been turned into a reactionary, has he?
Team news: Michael Keane makes his England debut
I say all those nice things about you, Gareth, and then you select Jamie Vardy ahead of Marcus Rashford. We need to talk.
Germany (4-2-3-1) Ter Stegen; Kimmich, Rudiger, Hummels, Hector; Weigl, Kroos; Sane, Podolski (c), Brandt; Werner.
England (3-4-2-1): Hart; Keane, Smalling, Cahill; Walker, Dier, Livermore, Bertrand; Lallana, Alli; Vardy.
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It’s been a desperate day in London, and the fatal terror attack in Westminster will overshadow this match. The full story is on our ongoing liveblog. If there are any newsflashes we’ll let you know here as well; otherwise we’ll try to stick to the football.
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Preamble
Hello. Here we go again, again. This is England’s first game since Gareth Southgate was made permanent manager and although the optimism is a warier and wearier than has sometimes been the case, the old John Cleese line from Clockwise still sums up how the majority of England supporters feel about their team: “It’s not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. It’s the hope.”
Southgate has pointed out that, since his penalty miss against Germany in 1996, England have done little to warrant such hope. Most of the time they go into tournaments with a weird mixture of arrogance and insecurity, a confused kind of gallows hubris. Southgate’s standards are higher than that and, by his own admission, there is a bit of Roy Keane in him. In November 1998, when Aston Villa celebrated their best-ever start to a league season with a commemorative team photo after winning at the Dell, Southgate raged against their small-time mentality.
He is not somebody who will get giddy about smooth qualification campaigns or wins in friendlies. England can win against top, top teams in less important matches: they beat all four of the Euro 2016 semi-finalists between November 2015 and June 2016, and have won their last three matches against Germany in Germany. Whatever happens tonight, Southgate won’t be getting carried away.
Kick off is at 7.45pm.
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