England expose weak Germany as World Cup looms

England 3-3 Germany
(Shaw 72', Mount 75', Kane pen 83' - Gündogan pen 52', Havertz 67', 87')
Wembley Stadium

For seven weeks, Hansi Flick will sit with the sound of Harry Kane’s penalty hitting the top corner. It was the sound of the curtain being pulled back as the ugly truth of this Germany side was revealed. Thirteen games unbeaten is all well and good, but in the last two competitive games before the World Cup in Qatar Germany’s form has abandoned them.

In the end, a draw flattered Germany and when Kane converted from the spot it marked an 11-minute spell in which Germany went from leading 2-0 to deservedly being 3-2 down.

"We were 2-0 up, we gave it up but then to come back here at Wembley is a positive," Thomas Müller told reporters after the game. "The feeling we have today is not decisive for how we go into the first World Cup game."

On the surface, this game delivered everything both sides needed ahead of a World Cup. Both scored lots of goals, both tested themselves against a top opponent and both were forced, after a tepid and conservative first half, to respond to a wild second 45.

This was supposed to be the game that proved the loss in Leipzig was nothing more than a minor blip, a bad day at the office, and that aspirations to challenge for the World Cup in Qatar were not founded in blind faith.

Instead, Germany looked like a vulnerable team that, once hurt, quickly bled out. When Mason Mount scored England’s second just three minutes after their first a third never felt far away.

Hansi Flick called for his side to show they believed in their style of play and to have fun. Germany enjoyed 10 minutes of the 90 against Germany, spending far too much of it delivering exactly what Flick didn’t want to see, namely a side unsure what to do.

That in the first half their best chance came from long-range said everything. That Ilkay Gündogan’s penalty came against the run of play and the equalizer as a result of a goalkeeper error equally said a lot about where Germany are at the moment. This did not look like a team with a clear plan, but rather one capable of little more than short bursts of transitional quality.

Club form a concern

Bayern Munich’s poor form in the Bundesliga has played a role in Germany’s slump, but that alone paints too simple a picture. The coronavirus cases, injuries and suspensions have hindered Flick’s ability to create continuity in the 11, but that too can’t hide the fact that going into the World Cup Germany’s best 11 remains a riddle.

The wingback position is a major weakness, with both David Raum and Thilo Kehrer hardly making convincing cases for themselves against England. Kai Havertz might have answered the goalscoring bell twice, but the absence of a number nine for Germany was made all the more prominent by the way Harry Kane led England’s line. Too many positions in this side are filled with emergency solutions that are struggling to hide the squad’s shortcomings at the worst possible time.

Much hope, perhaps too much, rests on the shoulders of Jamal Musiala. The 19-year-old knows how to find the half space, and might have been rewarded more in Germany’s 10-minute passage of positivity had Timo Werner not repeatedly fluffed his lines off the bench. As this game proved though, it doesn’t matter how good Musiala is at picking the lock if Germany don’t get near the proverbial door enough.

Before the World Cup in Russia four years ago, Joachim Löw’s Germany delivered an extremely unconvincing performance in a win against Saudi Arabia. Löw and Thomas Müller passed it off, saying Germany were a tournament team. Everyone remembers how that ended. While Qatar is unlikely to end the same way for Germany, their preparations have begun in an equally disappointing and concerning manner. There is work to do, but before Hansi Flick can even begin he will have to wait and in the meantime, all he’ll have is the sound of Germany’s lead crumbling away.