Germany's draw against England in the Nations League: the amazement comes with Musiala

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Jamal Musiala was one of the best against England

Photo: HEIKO BECKER / REUTERS

The boss

: Eleven months ago, Harry Kane ended Joachim Löw's era at the German Football Association.

At that time he scored the decisive 2-0 in the round of 16 against the DFB-Elf, Germany was eliminated and coach Löw's time was over.

It looked like the Tottenham star could do no harm to the German team this time, Kane tried a lot but the German side always had an answer.

In the 76th minute, keeper Manuel Neuer fended off a great opportunity from Kane.

But in the 85th minute Kane fell, there were penalties and the striker converted it himself. It became quiet in the Munich stadium.

Result of the game

: Germany coach Hansi Flick remained unbeaten in his eleventh international match, but was not enough to win against England.

The final score in the second German game in the Nations League was 1:1 (0:0).

You can find the match report here.

Room for recommendations:

Five months before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, the Nations League is above all a place for experimentation and for the players a chance to play themselves to the fore.

After the disappointing 1-1 draw against Italy, Flick made seven changes to his starting XI.

One of the newcomers, left-back David Raum, used the first minute to draw attention to his great quality.

TSG Hoffenheim's assist machine (13 assists in the past Bundesliga season) put Kai Havertz in the limelight with a nice through ball for the first dangerous attack.

The first half:

Flick got to see more of the intensity that he had missed against Italy - and the football of his team was sometimes even impressive: In the 27th minute, the DFB team combined with many direct passes to the opposing goal forward, but Jamal Musiala's shot attempt (more on him in a moment) was blocked.

Shortly before, the German team had celebrated a goal by Jonas Hofmann, but the goal did not count because of offside.

England also had chances, including two dangerous shots from Bukayo Saka in injury time.

The future is called Musiala:

Dortmund's Jude Bellingham came on for injured team-mate Kalvin Phillips in the 14th minute.

That put the man on the pitch that Bayern player Musiala knows from the Bundesliga and with whom he once played in England's junior teams.

In the previous year, however, Musiala, who was born in Stuttgart, decided to join the DFB.

For the German association, this is perhaps the best news in recent years, in which there has been little else to celebrate apart from sporting failures.

The 19-year-old masters the ball better than almost anyone else, even in the tightest of spaces, has an overview and speed, and Musiala is a source of amazement.

You could see all that against England.

The lead:

Musiala had nothing to do with the opening goal, but a team-mate from Bayern did: Joshua Kimmich served Gladbacher Hofmann with a nice pass into free space, who was lucky with his rather unplaced shot (51st minute).

Kai Havertz was also involved in the goal, who made a better impression with his presence up front than Timo Werner did recently.

From the middle of the second half, the DFB team lost momentum - with the substitution of Musiala.

No defensive block yet:

Nico Schlotterbeck played alongside Antonio Rüdiger for the first time against the Netherlands at the end of March, and now they have been able to prove themselves again as a central defender duo.

The future Dortmund professional Schlotterbeck didn't always look good against England's footballers, minor mistakes were made from time to time and at the very end he came a step too late.

Schlotterbeck brought down Kane before the penalty to make it 1-1.

The Freiburg player was responsible for a penalty in his first international match against Israel, and now the second came – in his third international match.

Schlotterbeck is 22 and still seems impetuous.

But at his age he is also capable of learning.

Dress code »tournament fever«:

The men's World Cup does not take place until autumn, but summer doesn't have to do without football.

The European Women's Soccer Championship will be held in England from July 6th, and the DFB men drew attention to that tournament with their choice of clothes.

With the jerseys that the DFB women normally wear, the Flick-Elf ran out against England.

One is looking forward to this tournament, said DFB captain Neuer about the PR campaign.

Outlook:

Netherlands, Italy, England – those were the last three DFB opponents, all big names in world football.

The game ended 1-1 three times.

No progress with the German team?

Against England the positive actions prevailed, a learning effect after Italy became clear.

And the season is not over yet: on Saturday against Hungary and next Tuesday against Italy, the DFB-Elf can show that consistency is one of their qualities.