Harry Kane’s late penalty — 50th goal for his country — earned England a 1-1 draw in Germany in their Nations League game, while Italy and Turkey registered wins.
Kane slotted the equaliser from the spot in the 88th minute, though there was controversy over referee Carlos del Cerro Grande’s decision to award it after a VAR check as Kane looked to be offside before going down in a tangle with Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck.
It had looked like Jonas Hofmann’s 51st-minute goal would give Germany a measure of consolation for losing to England at the European Championship last year and condemn Gareth Southgate’s team to their second consecutive loss after their 1-0 defeat to Hungary on Saturday.
But Kane, who missed several good chances, stayed cool to convert the best chance late on. Germany coach Hansi Flick made seven changes to the team that drew in Italy 1-1 on Saturday, while Southgate made four to the side that lost in Hungary.
“It is really important to show the mentality, 1-0 behind we showed good character to get back into the game and get a result,” Kane, who is now three goals behind England’s all-time top scorer Wayne Rooney, said. “We were playing against a very good Germany side. We kept going and played our best football in the last half an hour.”
Phillips injured
Germany made the better start, forcing two corners early on. Kyle Walker made a potentially goal-saving clearance off the line for England. England midfielder Kalvin Phillips had to go off early after a clash with Schlotterbeck. His 18-year-old Borussia Dortmund teammate Jude Bellingham came on for his 14th appearance in Phillips’ place.
Hofmann had a goal ruled for offside after a lengthy VAR check, then Kane fired over an empty goal from close range after a corner at the other end. The 18-year-old Jamal Musiala, who was playing an outstanding game, fired a good opportunity at goalkeeper Jordan Pickford toward the end of the first half.
Rebuilding process
Lorenzo Pellegrini continued his impressive scoring form to help Italy beat Hungary 2-1 in Cesena. Pellegrini finished off a well-worked team move on the stroke of half-time when Matteo Politano cut into the right side of the area and put in a low cross for the Roma midfielder to slot in at the far post.
It was Pellegrini’s second goal in as many matches for Italy, having also scored against Germany. Pellegrini scored nine times for Roma in Serie A last season and five times in the Europa Conference League to help his team win the trophy.
Nicolo Barella had scored Italy’s opener in the 30th minute. Italy were playing with renewed enthusiasm and had several chances to score a third. But the Azzurri allowed Hungary back into the game in the 61st minute when Gianluca Mancini turned a cross from substitute Attila Fiola into his own net.
Turkey romped to a 6-0 win in Lithuania and Luxembourg enjoyed a 1-0 win in the Faroe Islands. Finland defeated Montenegro 2-0.
