England battled back against Germany but ended up drawing at Wembley on Monday night in their last match before the World Cup gets underway in November.
Ilkay Gundogan scored a penalty after Harry Maguire’s mistake before Kai Havertz struck a stunner but the Three Lions came back through Luke Shaw and Mason Mount. After nearly 560 minutes of not scoring an open-play goal, two came in quick succession.
VAR helped out to hand England a penalty with seven minutes to go as Harry Kane made no mistake. Havertz scored once again, though, to make it 3-3 following an absolute shocker from Nick Pope. Despite the late equaliser, it has given the Three Lions some hope going into the World Cup after a miserable run of form while Gareth Southgate would have learned a lot from this final encounter before the trip to Qatar.
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Midfield looks locked down
Southgate has got his system nailed down, it is just about putting the right players in the right positions. And in midfield, that conundrum appears to have been solved with Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham locked in.
Rice gives some solidity to the base of midfield and works hard to get the ball back while being calm in possession while Bellingham has the ability to race between boxes and is a goal threat.
For the likes of Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson, their only chance of landing starting positions at the World Cup will be down to injuries.
Alexander-Arnold omission odd
While Reece James is more than suitable at right wing-back, having Trent Alexander-Arnold in the squad can only be a bonus, right? If the issue is that he is not great defensively, then Southgate cannot justify having Maguire as a starter in this team – whose poor form is quickly becoming the norm.
And at right wing-back, Alexander-Arnold’s deficiencies would hardly be as exposed due to the three-at-the-back system. Not even in the squad, it does not look good for the Liverpool star but Southgate might think twice.
Ramsdale might be better option
With Jordan Pickford out injured, this was a chance for Southgate to try out his other goalkeeping options but went with Nick Pope in both games. That is despite Aaron Ramsdale’s decent start to the season but one attribute the Arsenal star is better at might be more useful than the Newcastle star.
Ramsdale can pick a pass out brilliantly and has better footwork than Pope, though admittedly not perfect. And in a team that loves to control possession, having a goalkeeper who can play out from the back might have been the better choice.
Sancho and Rashford can be encouraged
When Southgate revealed that neither Jadon Sancho or Marcus Rashford were in the squad this international break, it looked like a clear indicator that their World Cup hopes might be over.
But England’s firepower hardly impressed with neither Kane or Raheem Sterling looking in fine fettle. While they are absolute shoo-ins for the World Cup squad this winter, the two Manchester United stars can prove to Southgate over the next month that they are more than suitable back-up options.
Tomori might be a must
An unfortunate casualty of the evening was John Stones, who has been in brilliant form and been arguably England’s best centre-back this season. But a potential hamstring could see him ruled out for potentially two months – all but ending his Qatari dreams.
A huge blow for the Three Lions and heartbreaking for the Manchester City star, at least Southgate has another defender in the bank who has won the league. Fikayo Tomori led AC Milan to Serie A success last season but has had a tough time with the England set-up.
Well, Southgate might not have a choice but to bring him into the fold now.
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