It was shaping up to be a night when Harry Maguire hogged the wrong kind of headlines, when Gareth Southgate endured more pain, when the soul-searching around England and their manager deepened. The team had been promising in the first half against their old foes, hinting at good things without making them happen. And then it all threatened to fall apart.
Maguire had been booed by some of those present when his name was announced before kick-off. Having found his feet, some others chanted his name on the half-hour. But it lurched the other way again when he erred at the start of the second half, losing the ball as the last man before kicking Jamal Musiala to concede a penalty. Ilkay Gündogan scored to make it 1-0.
Written by David Hytner at Wembley
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/26/england-germany-nations-league-match-report under the title “Germany’s Havertz punishes Pope error to spoil England’s thrilling comeback”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
