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England 0-0 Germany
Goals: You wish
In one of the better goalless draws that you'll ever see, England and Germany played out an enterprising match at the Wembley. Both sides gave us a measure of their future, with both, England and Germany giving their youth a chance in this friendly. England's youngsters matched the Germans blow for blow and remained unscathed for the majority of the time.
Leroy Sane went the closest for Germany whereas Jamie Vardy, Tammy Abraham and Jesse Lingard all had decent chances to win it for England. But, the match ended with shared honours, as the Germans continued their unbeaten streak at the Wembley with this match being their seventh game at the venue since 1975.
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On that note, here are the 5 talking points from a goalless draw between the eternal rivals:
#5 England's future looks secure
Injuries piled up one after the other for Gareth Southgate ahead of the big, yet inconsequential game against Germany. This meant that the England boss had to give debuts to as many as four young Englishmen at the Wembley.
Southgate would be happy after the game as all the debutants showed their qualities on the biggest of stages.
Jordan Pickford shined between the posts and was one of the best players on the field. Joe Hart might need something special to replace the Everton custodian as England's number one. Tammy Abraham looked nervous at times but was menacing at times.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was brilliant in the centre of the park and gave the England boss food for thought in his midfield dilemma. Joe Gomez then made his debut after he replaced Phil Jones in the first half.
The Liverpool defender was composed and showed his strength up against the German attackers. All in all, with the current squad, along with top missing players like Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Adam Lallana; England can certainly look forward to a brighter future.
#4 Germany's depth is jaw-dropping
All the attention before the game was on England's young blooded starting lineup which was also the country's most inexperienced playing eleven in the last 37 years with just 101 international caps among them. But, on the other hand, Germany boasted over 300 caps in their lineup despite having more players under the age of 23.
With the likes of Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos being rested, the onus was on the younger generation to do the needful.
Led by Leroy Sane in attack, the Germans looked threatening as ever which was effectively down to their stunning bench strength. Timo Werner and debutant wing-back Marcel Halstenberg impressed, whereas Joshua Kimmich, who already has 25 caps at the age of 22, was again influential.
The reigning World champions gave an example of their youth power at the Confederations Cup last summer, and this was yet another occasion where Joachim Low's brigade impressed against a familiar foe. Germany failed to score after 13 international games, which tells us a lot about the strengths of their team. The main team and the bench, alike
#3 Jordan Pickford stakes his claim. Bad news for Joe Hart?
With Jack Butland out with a broken finger, it was certain that Jordan Pickford would make his much-awaited England debut. Since he has emerged on the scene at Sunderland, Pickford has been touted as a future England regular.
He made his bow against Germany and not only delivered a brilliant performance, the Everton shot-stopper has staked a claim of being England's number one in Russia.
Pickford has had to do a lot of work this season for Everton, which helped focus against the Germans from the word go. The custodian was sensational in the first half and made as many as four decent stops against Marcel Halstenberg and Timo Werner. His two saves against the Leipzig striker were the best of the night and gave a fine example of his reflexes.
Joe Hart who has been favoured by Southgate till date may have just lost his place in the England squad with two promising goalkeepers (Jack Butland being the other) ready and worthy enough to be the Three Lions' numero uno goalkeeper.
Considering West Ham's struggles in the Premier League, it will be tough for Hart to reclaim his place in the England setup.
#2 Leroy Sane dazzles for the Germans
Continuing his stunning form in the Premier League, Leroy Sane terrorized England with his directness at the Wembley. The forward missed the Confederations Cup last year with a nose surgery and looked like a man on a mission to prove a point to his national side.
Sane had made just one start for Germany before this game, but, against England, Sane was Germany's best player.
He took on defenders at will, and the English line of defence had to, on a number of occasions, adopt their last resort - taking down Sane on every possible occasion. This led to the Manchester City man being fouled the most, as Joe Gomez and Jack Livermore received bookings for their respective challenges on Sane.
Sane had three glorious chances to get on the score sheet, the first being marginally over the crossbar whereas the second being heroically saved by Phil Jones on the touchline. The third, was a stunning curler that crashed into the woodwork, with Pickford stuck in no man's land.
The 21-year-old was unlucky not to score but would take a number of positives from this display. One thing is certain that the former Schalke 04 forward is ready to leap to the next level and the 2018 World Cup might be the occasion where Leroy Sane announces himself on THE biggest stage.
#1 Ruben Loftus-Cheek's man of the match performance
This season has been a horror show for Crystal Palace but the one positive that can be extracted, is the form of Chelsea loanee, Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The 21-year-old has been the Eagles' best performer which resulted in him making his debut for the England side against Germany.
Free from the tensions at Crystal Palace, the midfielder looked at ease and delivered an authoritative performance which won him the man of the match award.
Playing in a midfield three, alongside Eric Dier and Jack Livermore, Loftus-Cheek had the licence to go forward and join attacks which he did with aplomb. His passing was also up to the mark with his long ball for Jamie Vardy being truly the pass of the match.
Vardy should have scored with that kind of service! On two occasions, the 21-year-old showed his flair and skills to get out of tight spaces and made a mockery of the player marking him.
Gareth Southgate now has another option on his sleeve to make his midfield cauldron more creative which has drawn flak from all corners. Ruben Loftus-Cheek can be the solution to link England's defence and attack with a sense of urgency and his performance against Germany must have also been appreciated by those at the Stamford Bridge.
Outrageous.
