Agency :
Harry Kane’s late converted penalty canceled out Jonas Hofmann’s opener and helped England snatch a 1-1 stalemate with Germany at the second game in Group 3 of UEFA Nations League on Tuesday.
The Germans started brightly in front of the home crowd as Kai Havertz tested England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after a fine combination with David Raum after just two minutes.
The hosts thought they had opened the scoring with 23 minutes gone but Hofmann’s goal into the top right corner was ruled offside.
At the half-hour mark, England eventually came to its first chance, but Kane couldn’t find the back of the goal from a promising position following a corner.
Both sides had chances to break the deadlock before halftime, yet Musiala couldn’t beat Pickford from a central position while Neuer denied Bukayo Saka’s shot from a tight angle.
After the restart, Germany started well into the encounter as Joshua Kimmich’s through ball found Hofmann, who had all time and space to drill the ball from 10 meters past Pickford in the 51st minute.
England responded well and should have leveled the scores moments later but Neuer was equal to Mason Mount’s dangerous long-range hammer.
Germany nearly caught England but Thomas Muller failed to overcome Pickford from very close range in the 70th minute.
Neuer drove England to desperation as Germany’s No.1 neutralized Kane’s first time shot at the far post, six minutes later.
Kane had the last laugh though as Nico Schlotterbeck fouled on England’s striker inside the box in the 88th minute. Kane stepped up and sent Neuer into the wrong corner to clinch a 1-1 draw on the road.
“England’s later equalizer is of course bitter. We played well overall and created our moments, but we should have secured the win,” said Germany’s Jonas Hofmann.
“I think we must thank Manuel Neuer. He is the best goalkeeper in the world. The boys staged a great performance, but they failed to reward themselves,” said Germany coach Hansi Flick.
