Germany 1-1 England: 5 talking points as a late Kane penalty earns a draw for the Three Lions | 2022-23 UEFA Nations League
Germany and England shared the spoils in their UEFA Nations League fixture on Tuesday night, with Jonas Hofmann's powerful strike cancelled out by Harry Kane's late penalty.
The two sides failed to get their campaigns off to a winning start with Germany playing a 1-1 draw against Italy and England suffering a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Hungary.
Best performance? 𝐓𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘'𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐒
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Germany were the dominant side for the better part of the game, maintaining 63% possession but were lacking the final touch in front of the goal. England only grew into the game in the final 20 minutes of the game with substitutes Jack Grealish and Jarrod Bowen breathing fresh life into their attack.
As the two old rivals settle for a draw, we take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Germany enjoyed good spells of possession but failed to put the game to bed
Germany maintained a 63% possession in the game and for the most part, made good use of the ball. They created plenty of chances to trouble the English defenders but were not decisive enough in the final third.
Of their 10 goal attempts in the game, six were on target but rarely caused any problems for Jordan Pickford. They thought they had taken the lead in the 24th minute but Hofmann's goal was ruled out by a lengthy VAR check for the player being in an offside position.
They finally got on the scoresheet in the 50th minute, with Hofmann scoring from close range thanks to a smart pass from Joshua Kimmich which found him in a good position. In the end, they had just one goal to show for their dominant performance.
#4 English defenders had a hard time against the tricky German attackers
Wideman Hofmann and David Raum provided a lot of width going forward with their positioning and smart runs, causing a lot of problems for the Three Lions. Bayern Munich duo Thomas Muller and Jamal Musiala made intelligent use of the space between the defensive lines.
In the buildup to Germany's goal in the 23rd minute, which was ruled out due to offside, the defenders were caught out when Nico Schlotterbeck's long ball found Hofmann.
Harry Maguire, England's last man before Pickford, was caught in a tussle with Kai Havertz in the middle which allowed Hofmann to run away with the ball.
When Hofmann eventually scored, he was not marked by any of the defenders. He took a couple of touches before unleashing a powerful strike into the back of the net.
#3 VAR makes a contentious call in the match in awarding the penalty to England
VAR was called upon during the match to help out with at least two important decisions. First, Hofmann's goal in the 23rd minute was reviewed for a long time to check for offside. It eventually led to the goal not standing and video replays confirmed that it was the right call.
The second crucial time when VAR was called upon was when Harry Kane was brought down in the box by Schlotterbeck. While there was definite contact, the video replay also showed that Kane was in an offside position as he made the run to meet the pass, which was not considered.
The penalty helped England equalize and it was a major turning point in the game. It remains a mystery why an offside check was not done simultaneously.
#2 In a game with so many chances, both sides struggled to produce decisive finishing
Despite the game ending in a low-scoring affair, the match was highly entertaining in which both sides had plenty of chances to score. Germany started the game brightly, knocking on England's doors with half chances.
Their onslaught continued in the second half as well. But apart from Hofmann's goal, the other chances did not yield any results. Either the angle was too tight or it was intercepted before it became too dangerous.
The visitors came close to breaking the deadlock in injury time of the first half as Bukayo Saka's effort rolled just inches wide of the post. The addition of Grealish and Bowen helped their attacking output but no goals came from open play.
#1 Harry Kane reaches the 50-goal mark for England
Harry Kane was the visiting side's savior in the game as he scored the equalizing goal from the penalty spot in the 88th minute. The Tottenham Hotspur striker also reached the 50-goal mark for the national team.
50 goals for Harry Kane in an England shirt 🎯 https://t.co/SlDApg9Jzl
He is now only behind Wayne Rooney in the all-time top-scorers list. The former Manchester United striker had found the back of the net 53 times with the Three Lions.