FOOTBALL: England denied victory in final match before World Cup despite thrilling fightback against Germany

England denied victory in final match before World Cup despite thrilling fightback against Germany. Despite rallying from behind to tie Germany 3-3 in their final UEFA Nations League game, England will enter this year’s World Cup without a competitive victory since November of last year.

After losing at the San Siro on Friday night, the Three Lions were already relegated, and after Harry Maguire missed a terrible second-half penalty and Kai Havertz scored a thunderous goal, it appeared that they would suffer yet another humiliating loss.

However, Gareth Southgate’s team pulled off a miraculous comeback in just 12 frenzied minutes thanks to three goals, giving them plenty of confidence going into Qatar, even if Havertz’s late equalizer slightly broke their bubble.

English looked more more threatening against Germany than they did against Italy, even before falling behind, with the front three linking more frequently and creating more opportunities.

When Luke Shaw, who started in place of Bukayo Saka, made a fantastic pass in behind the defense to allow Raheem Sterling through on goal just before the half-hour mark, Southgate’s team should have seized the lead.

The Chelsea star made a deft inside cut, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen comfortably parried his timid left-footed attempt.

That prompted a sudden surge in tempo and intent from England, with a clever through-ball from Sterling giving Phil Foden the opportunity to cross to Harry Kane for a tap-in, but his pass went behind the England skipper.

England denied victory in final match before World Cup despite thrilling fightback against Germany. Shortly after, the Tottenham forward put Sterling through on goal, but a bad touch resulted in a goal kick, and just before halftime, Ter Stegen again denied the quick winger.

However, Germany was keeping the ball effectively, and on the verge of the half, Joshua Kimmich sent Nick Pope scurrying across his goal line with a low, driven shot that sailed just wide of the post.

Despite England’s first-half offensive promise, they allowed the opponents to score right after the break when under pressure Maguire passed right to Jamal Musiala on the edge of the box before taking down the young player there.

The referee initially waved play on but he only needed to glance at the VAR monitor once to overturn his decision, with Ilkay Gundogan calmly and coolly rolling the ball into the bottom corner.

England initially responded well though and continued to probe on the counter, with Jude Bellingham twice set up on the edge of the box, but Germany were also looking more and more dangerous on the break particularly through pacey half-time substitute Timo Werner.

The game looked to have been put to bed in the 67th minute when Maguire lost possession high up the pitch and Germany broke forward; Havertz was given far too much space on the edge of the box and lined up a stunning, curling effort that found the top corner.

But England responded within minutes to net their first goal from open play in over nine hours, and it came from an unlikely source as Shaw collected a cross from the excellent Bellingham and managed to squeeze the ball under Ter Stegen and over the line.

Moments later the hosts produced a moment of genuine magic to level the scores, with Saka dancing through the German defence before setting up fellow substitute Mason Mount who produced a stunning first-time finish.

England were now pushing forward with renewed confidence and were rewarded with a penalty of their own – again via VAR after the referee missed a clear foul on Bellingham – and Kane fired an unstoppable effort into the top corner to put the hosts ahead for the first time in the contest.

The happiness was short-lived, though, as Havertz snuck past the stranded goalkeeper in the 87th minute after Pope parried a meek long-range attempt directly into his path.

After Kane’s superb through-ball had set Saka free, the Three Lions still had a chance to win, but Ter Stegen’s fingertips stopped the Arsenal sensation.

Even though England lost, Southgate will have noticed many hopeful signs from his team, especially a hitherto sterile attack that had received so much recent criticism. However, there is still much work to be done before the World Cup.

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