- England and Germany played out a 0-0 draw in a friendly at Wembley
- Chelsea youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek shone on his Three Lions debut
- Jordan Pickford also rescued England with some fine saves
- WATCH: Chelsea youngster absolutely ruins Man City star with slick skill on England debut
England and Germany played out an intriguing 0-0 draw in a friendly match at Wembley that will have given manager Gareth Southgate some cause for optimism ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
Although the Three Lions could not find a way through against the reigning World Champions, a youthful and inexperienced side put in a solid display in a game that could easily have gone either way.
While it was not always a feast of football, it was arguably one of England’s more entertaining recent games, and here’s a look at the highlights…
Man of the match
Put simply, it’s surely between two players. It’s either Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for this…
Wonderful save by Pickford and a brilliant block by Jones keep @England in the first half! pic.twitter.com/jBiIdOzJSv
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 10, 2017
And this…
Another fantastic save by Pickford on his @England debut denies Germans! pic.twitter.com/cNmSj1XHoA
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 10, 2017
Or it’s Crystal Palace’s on-loan Chelsea youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek for this…
That’s is disgusting from RLC pic.twitter.com/7hUTT9H3rX
— Steven (@st3v3nbill) November 10, 2017
Flop of the match
Unfortunately for Chelsea, while one of their exciting young talents took to the international stage like a duck to water, another one looked a little out of his depth.
Loftus-Cheek may have impressed for England, but Tammy Abraham couldn’t get into the game and seemed to be trying a little too hard to impress.
Still, he has time on his side and will hope this debut display does not put Southgate off calling on him again this season as he continues to impress with loan club Swansea City.
Stat of the match
Despite a makeshift defence and a youthful line up in general, England kept out a Germany side that finished as top scorers in World Cup qualifying with 43 goals. Not too shabby.
Player ratings
England: Pickford 8, Jones 7, Stones 7, Maguire 6, Dier 6, Livermore 6, Loftus-Cheek 8, Vardy 6, Abraham 5 / Subs: Gomez 5, Rashford 6, Bertrand 6, Walker 6, Cork 6, Lingard 6
Germany: Ter Stegen 7, Hummels 7, Rudiger 6, Ginter 6, Halstenberg 6, Kimmich 6, Gundogan 6, Ozil 7, Sane 6, Draxler 6, Werner 7 / Subs: Can 6, Wagner 6
Reaction
Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of love for debutant Loftus-Cheek, with some of it going a *little* over the top…
Loftus cheek = english zidane
— Shaun Hill (@ShaunHi77990482) November 10, 2017
Why is loftus cheek such a baller…
— George Smith. (@georgesmith10_) November 10, 2017
Loftus-Cheek coming into this more now. Not many English players who wear the number 10 shirt and actually look like a number 10.
— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) November 10, 2017
Aside from that, there seemed a general agreement that this was an impressive performance and a draw that could have been a win with a little more luck or more in the way of ambition from Southgate…
Apart from not scoring, we can have little complaints from that performance. Southgate’s experimental side proved it can work, and there were plenty of positives from that result. Win, loss, draw in last three against Germany.
— Craig Bratt (@craigybratt) November 10, 2017
Some positives from that. Still not convinced Southgate is the man. Not brave or decisive enough. Game was there to be won
— Jacob Morley (@JacobMorley26) November 10, 2017