It was a proud night for Liverpool youngster Joe Gomez, who won his first England cap in the Three Lions’ 0-0 friendly draw with Germany.
England 0-0 Germany
Friendly, Wembley Stadium
November 10, 2017
England took on their adversaries at Wembley, with Gareth Southgate fielding an inexperienced lineup due to key figures being unavailable.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was one of those missing through injury, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Daniel Sturridge didn’t receive call-ups.
Tottenham‘s Eric Dier skippered the side, and there were also starts for debutants Jordan Pickford, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham.
By England’s standards, especially when it comes to friendlies, it was an entertaining contest at Wembley, with Kieran Trippier finding the side-netting and Leroy Sane hitting the crossbar for the visitors.
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Pickford made an excellent save and Julian Draxler shot over the crossbar, before Gomez entered the fray earlier than expected.
The 20-year-old replaced the injured Phil Jones with 24 minutes played, in what was an incredibly proud moment for him.
After suffering such bad luck with injuries, starting with a cruciate ligament problem picked up for England’s U21s two years ago, this will be seen as a major moment in his career.
Gomez was booked on the stroke of half-time, following a foul on Sane, but he didn’t look out of his depth at senior international level.
Jamie Vardy was denied by a superb save by Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen early in the second half, and Loftus-Cheek shone more than anyone.
Can was introduced in place of Draxler with a quarter of the match remaining, with the 23-year-old slotting into the midfield.
One long-range effort from Can drifted wide, and a few bursts of pace were on display.
The game ended in a 0-0 draw but, in fairness, it was 90 minutes of relatively attack-minded action.
From a Liverpool perspective, the evening was all about Gomez, who made the first of what is hopefully many appearances for his country.
England: Pickford; Jones (Gomez 24′), Stones, Maguire; Trippier (Walker 72′), Livermore (Cork 86′), Dier, Loftus-Cheek, Rose (Bertrand 72′); Vardy (Lingard 86′), Abraham (Rashford 60′)
Subs not used: Hart, Keane, Cahill, Young
Germany: Ter Stegen; Ginter, Hummels, Rudiger; Kimmich, Ozil, Gundogan (Rudy 86′), Halstenberg; Draxler (Can 67′), Sane (Brandt 86′), Werner (Wagner 73′)
Subs not used: Trapp, Leno, Sule, Boateng, Plattenhardt, Khedira, Stindl, Gotze
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