In the end it was again 1-1 in Munich, as before on Saturday against Italy and at the end of March in the test international match against the Netherlands. The German national coach Hansi Flick was satisfied despite the late equalizer from a penalty by Harry Kane and identified a positive development with regard to the World Cup.
“The game was as we had planned,” explained Flick after the game in the Allianz Arena and saw a significant improvement in performance compared to the Italy game. “The way it was just great for the fans. It’s a shame we didn’t reward ourselves.” The penalty kick clumsily caused by Dortmund’s new signing Nico Schlotterbeck prevented the great spirit of optimism and the revenge for the European Championship loss against the “Three Lions” in the round of 16 at the end of June 2021 in Wembley. “If we disregard the result, we can definitely be satisfied with the step we have taken,” said Thomas Müller.
Axis for Qatar
The Bayern professional was one of just four players who also started in the sobering 1-1 draw against Italy. Müller, defense chief Antonio Rüdiger, Joshua Kimmich and captain Manuel Neuer in goal – Flick is building his axis for the Qatar World Cup at the end of the year. “We have quality, we have players who have the potential to develop,” said the 57-year-old national coach, who spoke of positive competition.
Goalscorer Jonas Hofmann, Ilkay Gündogan as midfielder, Jamal Musiala and David Raum on the left flank – all showed strong performances. “We have huge potential,” said Gündogan. “Unfortunately it shouldn’t be. Maybe that’s the step we still have to take to bring games like this home.” The next opportunity awaits with Hungary on Saturday in Budapest (8.45 p.m.). However, the DFB team has been warned: England surprisingly went under 1-0 in Budapest, Italy managed a narrow 2-1 win against the Magyars in the home game.
Sobering yield
The late point in Munich was extremely important for Gareth Southgate’s team in order not to come home to the new edition of the European Championship final against Italy on Saturday with two Nations League defeats in their luggage.
“It’s important to show mentality. We showed character after going behind. We played our best football in the last 30 minutes,” said England’s star striker Kane, who scored his 50th international goal, overtaking World Cup legend Bobby Charlton . Record goalgetter Wayne Rooney is only three goals away.
For the match, however, Kane, Sterling and Co received rather poor marks at home. “It was far from England’s most impressive performance in recent memory,” summarized the Daily Mail newspaper. The next test is now against the European champions, who are currently being reorganized by coach Roberto Mancini.
Source: Nachrichten
