England were denied a dramatic win after a late error by goalkeeper Nick Pope halted a superb comeback and gifted Germany an equaliser in the UEFA Nations League 3- 3 clash at Wembley yesterday.
In a game of fluctuating fortunes, Germany looked on course for victory as two bad mistakes from the hapless Harry Maguire put Hansi Flick’s side in control.
England manager Gareth Southgate has remained fiercely loyal to the defender despite his struggles at Manchester United but the decision backfired badly.
Maguire lost possession then brought down Jamal Musiala to concede the penalty from which Jamal Musiala gave Germany the lead seven minutes after half-time then lost the ball and was left out of position as Chelsea’s Kai Havertz curled in a superb second after 67 minutes.
England were facing a third successive defeat but showed great character and resilience to turn the game around and move within sight of what would have been a morale-boosting win in the last game before the World Cup in Qatar.
Luke Shaw pulled one back then a superb equaliser from substitute Mason Mount and a Harry Kane penalty, given after a foul on Jude Bellingham by Nico Schlotterbeck, looked to have capped an unlikely fightback in the space of 12 minutes.
Sadly for Pope, hoping to stake his claim as deputy to first choice Jordan Pickford, he fumbled a routine shot from Serge Gnabry with three minutes left, leaving Havertz to pounce and condemn England to their worst run of results since 1993.
