Berlin // Roy Hodgson insists England are still “a work in progress”, but goal-scorer Harry Kane hailed a ‘special night’ after the Three Lions’ stunning 3-2 fightback win away to Germany.
Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez had put the world champions 2-0 up at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday with an hour gone before the game turned England’s way.
Photo gallery: England stun Germany with late fightback in international friendly
The Three Lions roared back with three unanswered goals from Kane and Jamie Vardy, then Eric Dier headed the winner on 91 minutes to stun the World Cup winners.
“It’s important to remain humble in these moments. We have an awful long way to go before we can claim to be like the Germans, after what they have achieved in the last few years,” said England manager Hodgson.
“But it was a good performance and we can take a lot of pride and encouragement from it.
“It was good to see the players play their way back into the game. It showed character to come from 2-0 down.
“What pleased me most was quality in our passing and movement, we ended up scoring three goals from an awful lot of chances.
“I am pleased to have been able to pick up from where we left off in November having played well against France.”
Read more: 'It's annoying' says Germany coach Joachim Loew on loss to England: 'We didn't deserve it'
Nevertheless, Hodgson conceded this was his best night so far with England since taking charge in May 2012.
England’s goal-scorer Kane was thrilled to have beaten the world champions in Berlin.
“It’s a special night. When you’re 2-0 down to the world champions, to then turn it around in their backyard shows character,” said the Tottenham Hotspur striker.
“We dug in and got the goals. It will be a night many of us won’t forget.
“You dream about scoring against teams like Germany on the big stage, but to have gone and won makes it all the more special.
“We have a great mentality about us, we never stopped playing and things were working.
“It was about staying focused, not just kicking long balls, and staying patient enough to wait for our chances.”
Online poll: Spain, France, England or Italy – which country is favourite to win Euro 2016?
Hodgson played down expectations on England, who host the Netherlands on Tuesday, before their opening Euro 2016 match against Russia, having also drawn Wales and Slovakia in Group B.
But he was pleased with the performances of inexperienced wingbacks Danny Rose, who was making his debut, and Nathaniel Clyne, who won his 10th cap.
“The result won’t do any harm, but it’s a friendly match and you have to be careful of attaching too much importance to it,” he said.
“I’m pleased with the progress the young lads are making.
“It was a good step forward in terms of the work we are doing, but there is an awful lot we can still do better.
“We still have four more friendlies and two months of work before we play the first game which will count which is the group game against Russia in Marseille.
“Jamie (Vardy) and Harry Kane have had wonderful seasons with their clubs and are playing with confidence.
“But Clyne and Danny Rose are also playing with a degree of confidence.
“I’ve felt for a while that this is the start of something.
“Let’s keep these players feet on the ground and more importantly, I want them to stay hungry to learn.”
International friendly results from Saturday
At Antalya, Turkey
Azerbaijan 0 Kazakhstan 1 (Bayzhanov 8)
At Moscow
Russia 3 (Smolov 41, Golovin 61, Glushakov 72) Lithuania 0
At Vienna
Austria 2 (Janko 6, Harnik 13) Albania 1 (Lenjani 47)
At Wroclaw
Poland 5 (Grosicki 18, 85, Wszolek 20, 66, Starzynski 33) Finland 0
At Budapest
Hungary 1 (Dzsudzsak 79) Croatia 1 (Mandzukic 29)
At Berlin
Germany 2 (Kroos 43, Gomez 57) England 3 (Kane 61, Vardy 74, Dier 90+1)
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
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Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
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The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh
Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
INFO
What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.
