Skipper Harry Kane is desperate to start England’s final two fixtures of a mammoth season having reached 50 internationals to come within three of the record haul.
The 28-year-old made his 60th appearance for club and country in the Nations League encounter against Germany in Munich on Tuesday, where he scored a late penalty past Manuel Neuer to secure a 1-1 draw.
England had been staring down the barrel of back-to-back Nations League losses after Jonas Hofmann struck to put Germany on course to compound Saturday’s shock 1-0 loss at unfancied Hungary.
But the Three Lions captain converted the penalty he won to seal an important point, reaching a half century of international goals in the process as he edges closer to Wayne Rooney’s all-time record of 53.
“It doesn’t get much bigger,” Kane said of the setting for his 50th England goal. “Germany is obviously one of our rivals over the years and a really big game, whether it’s Nations League, European competitions, World Cup, friendly.
“It’s always a big game for us, for our fans, for the country.
“It’s always nice scoring away from home in tough environments and it was a pleasing night. I probably should have got a couple more, if I’m totally honest, but that’s the way it goes.
“I thought it was really important that we didn’t lose, and we got a good point. Now we can go on to two home games and try get ourselves into a good position in the group.”
Following their matches in Budapest and Munich, England round off a testing run of four Nations League matches in an 11-day period with a double-header in Wolverhampton.
Germany v England player ratings
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GERMANY RATINGS: Manuel Neuer 7 - Made one incredible stop, maybe slightly lucky in terms of it pinging off his hip, when he got himself across his goal to deny Harry Kane with 15 minutes to go. Looked comfortable for the most part, more so than some outfield players while in possession. AP -
Lukas Klostermann 6 - The RB Leipzig man looked comfortable defending against Sterling and Kane and covered well when others were caught out of possession. EPA -
Antonio Rudiger 6 - The Real Madrid signing made some good blocks and interceptions, many of the things he did well for Chelsea, but doesn’t always look comfortable in possession. Did enough to limit most of England’s chances to shots from distance, so did his job. Reuters -
Nico Schlotterbeck 6 - Dortmund’s new signing accidentally came together with Kane with six minutes remaining and conceded the penalty that gave England the equaliser. Defended well against Kane for the most part and limited the Tottenham man to half chances, but didn’t use the ball particularly well. EPA -
Jonas Hofmann 8 - The midfielder received a pass from Kimmich a couple of yards inside the England penalty area, controlled and swivelled all in one movement before smashing the ball past Pickford. Caused England’s defenders problems all night with his well timed forward runs from midfield. Getty Images -
Joshua Kimmich 7 - Played the decisive pass for the goal when he zipped the ball into Hofmann’s feet. A high energy display showcasing his pressing ability to stifle Rice and Belllingham in the England midfield. PA -
Ilkay Gundogan 6 - A quiet night for the Manchester City schemer, but still kept the play ticking over in the German midfield and continually tested the full-backs by attempting to slide balls up the inside of Trippier and Walker. PA -
David Raum 7 - Worked well with Musiala as Germany created problems for England down that side. Lovely cross that he stood up to the back post for a Havertz chance in the first half. AP Photo -
Thomas Muller 6 - A quiet night by his standards, but still showed enough quality to cause England concern when he got on the ball in the attacking third. Reuters -
Jamal Musiala 8 - Stung Pickford's hands with a solid strike in the first minute as Germany signalled their intent early on. The Bayern Munich winger had a willingness to drive at the visitors and produced an end product with multiple shots and crosses. Man of the match. EPA -
Kai Havertz 7 - Should’ve done better with a header when he rose above Kieran Trippier at the back post 10 minutes before half time. Overall though, did enough to cause Maguire and Stones plenty of problems. EPA -
SUBS: Serge Gnarby 5 - The Bayern Munich winger who could be on his way to Arsenal replaced goalscorer Hofmann on 65 mins. Reuters -
Timo Werner 5 - Came on for Jamal Musiala with 25 minutes to go. The Chelsea man looked lively and caused England some problems down that right hand side. EPA -
Leon Goretzka N/A - Replaced Muller on 76 minutes and almost got in on a couple of occasions. EPA -
Leroy Sane N/A - On for Gundogan with seven minutes remaining. Had a couple of runs as Germany pushed for the winner. Getty -
ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford 4 - Got a hand to Hofmann’s strike which was straight at him, but somehow almost dived out of the way and couldn’t keep it out. Good stop at the near post from Muller, but also a save you’d expect a goalkeeper to make. Did well to deny Werner on the counter. Shouted a lot. Action Images -
Kyle Walker 6 - Vital piece of defending after only two minutes when got in front of Musiala at the back post and somehow flicked the ball over his own cross bar from a yard out. Defended well apart from suspect positioning for the goal when he should’ve recognised the danger. Getty Images -
John Stones 5 - Did OK. Didn’t make any glaring errors, but didn’t really assert himself on the match either. Reuters -
Harry Maguire 3 - The Manchester United defender got lucky in the first half when he got himself tangled up with Havertz and the ball bounced through to Hofmann who was in an offside position. Posted missing for Hofmann’s goal when he inexplicably wandered out of position. Reuters -
Kieran Trippier 6 - Did just enough to deny Havertz’s opening the scoring with a header at the far post when the Chelsea striker looked to have the leverage and momentum as he rose above the Newcastle United defender. He also made some timely recovery challenges and interceptions as Germany tried to slide balls between himself and Maguire down England’s left hand side. AFP -
Declan Rice 5 - Made a bad decision to vacate his slot in front of the defence as Germany attacked for their goal, which had a knock on effect for Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker’s equally poor decisions thereafter. The West Ham skipper worked tirelessly as always and had a better second half, but didn’t really click with Bellingham in the England engine room. AP Photo -
Kalvin Phillips N/A - It’s been an injury riddled season for the Leeds midfielder, and unfortunately, he didn’t last a quarter-of-an-hour here after sustaining an injury in an accidental clash with Schlotterbeck. Replaced by Jude Bellingham. Reuters -
Bukayo Saka 5 - Showed good feet to make half a yard on the right to unleash in a fierce strike which Neuer dealt with well. England's best and only chance of the first half was followed minutes later when the Arsenal man cut in from the right and had Neuer scrambling to cover a powerful curling left foot effort from the edge of the box. Reuters -
Mason Mount 6 - Forgot the Chelsea midfielder was on the pitch until he slid in Saka for a near post strike. Tested Neuer from distance just after the England goal, but the Bayern Munich stopper dived to his right to make a good save. Was more involved and looked dangerous early in the second half as he tried to take a hold of the gam. Getty Images -
Raheem Sterling 4 - A quiet night for the Manchester City forward and he was replaced by Bowen with 10 minutes remaining. He didn’t do much to affect the game for the 80 odd minutes he was on the pitch. PA -
Harry Kane 6 - Got a bit lucky when he felt Schlotterbeck’s contact for the penalty and VAR asked referee Carlos del Cerro Grande to take another look. Dispatched the spot kick, sending Manuel Neuer the wrong way for his 50th international goal. EPA -
SUBS: Jude Bellingham 6 - Replaced the injured Kalvin Philips after 14 minutes. Gave possession away far too easily and on too many occasions and was unable to play the simple pass. AFP -
Jack Grealish 6 - Initiated a bit of a momentum shift when he came on for Mason Mount on 73 minutes. The City schemer injected some positivity into another flat English display, creating chances with positive runs and dangerous balls into the Germany penalty area. Getty -
Jarrod Bowen 6 - Replaced Sterling with 10 minutes remaining. Looked lively and rifled an excellent ball across the face of the German six yard box that was just begging to be put away. EPA
Gareth Southgate’s side host Euro 2020 final foes Italy behind closed doors at Molineux on Saturday, before facing Hungary in front of a sell-out crowd at the same venue next Tuesday.
These Nations League matches have provided a physical and mental test at the end of a hectic season, but captain Kane would love the chance to go again despite playing the full 90 minutes in Hungary and Germany.
“Of course I want to play every game possible," he said.
Asked if he had told the England manager that, Kane added: “No, he knows that for sure. He knows that.
“But, look, we have a World Cup in not long so he has to look at players maybe and see who he wants in the squad and to be a part of that.
“But as a player I’ll always be ready to play, so we’ll see what happens.
“We travel back to England, recover well for the game on Saturday and whether I’m starting or on the bench I’ll be ready to go.”
Kane would love to beat Rooney’s scoring record this month – even if he says personal milestones are things he will only take in when he is “old and grey” – but he is aware of the bigger picture.
This is the penultimate camp before the World Cup gets under way, with just September’s Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany to come after this month’s meet-up.
Kane’s main ambition is to help England head to Qatar in the best possible place and, while acknowledging the need for improvements, believes the comeback draw in Germany was an important step.
“Really pleasing, it shows good mentality, good character," he said. "We know we still have stuff to improve on and work on, but we are in a good place and hopefully we can finish this camp with a couple of wins at home.”
