England's Adam Lallana in action during the International friendly match at Wembley. Photo credit should read: David Klein/Sportimage via PA Images

Adam Lallana and Emre Can feature as England are beaten by Germany

Adam Lallana and Emre Can were both involved in England’s 1-0 defeat to Germany on Wednesday night, and a couple of Liverpool’s reported transfer targets also featured for Joachim Low’s side.

The two faced each other at Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park, in their second friendly meeting in the space of 12 months.

Lallana was named in Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions starting line-up, with the 28-year-old deployed alongside Dele Alli, behind Jamie Vardy, in a Chelsea-esque 3-4-3 formation.

In a game that England dominated for large periods, Lallana had one of his team’s best chances, with his surging first-half run eventually seeing him hit the post.

The former Southampton man was one of the liveliest players throughout, in a performance that once again highlighted how far he has come in the last 18 months.

After the break, Can made a confident cameo, as Thursday’s headlines were written by Lukas Podolski, who fired home a stunning 25-yard strike on his final appearance for Germany.

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The hosts held on for a relatively undeserved win, beating England at home for the first time this century.

Both Julian Brandt and Timo Werner, two young players strongly linked with summer moves to Liverpool, also featured for a chunk of proceedings.

England's Eric Dier (left) and Germany's Julian Brandt (right) battle for the ball

Neither managed to make an impact, however, with Werner particularly quiet leading the line, and Brandt’s only real moment of note a drilled shot that flew wide of Joe Hart’s goal.

In truth, it felt like a Podolski testimonial at times, so it was hard to judge the respective qualities of the duo.

Jurgen Klopp will be relieved to see both Lallana and Can come through the game unscathed, while Nathaniel Clyne spent the night on the substitutes’ bench.

Next up for Lallana, Clyne and their England teammates is the visit of Lithuania in a 2018 World Cup qualifier on Sunday, while Can’s Germany visit Azerbaijan on the same night.

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