Germany v England International friendly game: Podolski signs off in style with winning goal

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Germany 1-0 England: second half

FT | Southgate's first loss as the manager of England. Far from a poor performance but the result will disappoint. Podolski signs off for Germany in absolutely breathtaking fashion. The kind of goal that he was always capable of, even on his off days, and he pulls one out of the bag to not only win the game for Germany and make it 49 for his carer, but to mark his last game with!

Min 90+2 | Lingard pulls back Sané. 

Min 90+1 | Sané still going strong as he tries to take a run at Cahill, but the Chelsea defender gets a foot in and puts it out for a corner.

Min 90 | England searching for a late chance but their efforts are thwarted as Rashford's run hits a German defender and lands in Ter Stegen's hands.

Min 88 | Corner for Germany after Hector goes close. No hurry to take this one. They'll be happy with the 1-0 despite not playing overly well. Hummels meets the corner with his head but it looks more like a defensive header than anything else.

Min 86 | With not much happening on the field, camera fixed on Podolski. He gives each of his teammates on the sideline a hug and then a big thumbs up to the crowd.

Germany substitution: A lovely moment for Podolski, who gets a rousing round of applause for his efforts in a German jersey. One of his finest goals in a German shirt tonight. Rudy takes his place.

England substitution: Luke Shaw comes on for Bertrand before Stones replaces Smalling and Livermore is replaced by Ward-Prowse.

Min 81 | Germany with a good move down the right with Mueller linking up with Sané but he was about 40 yards offside.

Min 79 | Redmond goes on a mazy run. The ball ends up in the air with Dier challenging for it but he goes straight through the German defender's back and he is penalised. Not happy about it but what does he expect the referee to do?

Germany substitution: Thomas Mueller comes on for Timo Werner, who had a really quiet game.

Min 75 | England trying to fashion an attack but they just can't break down Germany and have looked even less likely since Vardy and Alli went off.

Min 73 | Leroy Sané nearly makes it two but Hart gets down well to his left and saves with a strong hand.

England substitution: Marcus Rashford takes Jamie Vardy's place and Jesse Lingard replaces Dele Alli.

GOAL! Lukas Podolski absolutely rifles one beyond Joe Hart. No goalkeeper is ever saving that. What a hit! Maybe he will rethink his retirement.

England substitution: Adam Lallana comes off in place of Nathan Redmond (another debutant).

Germany substitution: Julian Weigl goes off in place of Emre Can.

Min 63 | Germany looking for a foul Schurrle goes down under a tackle from former Chelsea teammate, Gary Cahill. No foul, but Hart kicks it out to stop play as both managers make switches.

Min 61 | A little bit of argy bargy on the sideline. Lallana throws Thomas Mueller, who is a substitute warming up, out of the way after the ball lands in his hands. Lallana very keen to get the game started again.

Min 60 | Schurrle has a crack from distance after twisting and turning into a shooting position. It doesn't get the requisite curl and Hart waves it away.

Germany substitution: Schurrle on for Julian Brandt, who failed to impose himself on the game despite showing some rare bright moments.

Min 58 | Cahill reprimanded for a foul on Podolski. The crowd didn't like that one.

Min 57 | Andre Schurrle getting ready to come on now.

Min 55 | Dier gets the ball on the edge of the box and goes on a solo run before driving across the box, only to see his shot saved by Ter Stegen. He turns it away from Vary too, who was waiting to tap it in at the back post.

Min 54 | Podolski with two quick-fire chances in a row. He whiffs at the first and misses completely before having his second effort blocked and out for a corner that comes to nothing.

Min 53 | Another really good chance for England. This time Livermore sets Vardy free and he holds onto the ball, waiting for Alli to arrive into the box, before sending an almost perfect cross into the attacker. He gets a foot to it but can't direct it towards the goal.

Min 49 | Cahil clears and Alli tries to make a run for the border down the right but he gets to close to the sideline and runs it out for a throw. 

Min 47 | An early corner for Germany as Walker nicks the ball of Sané but can't stop it going over the end line. Hart punches it away and it lands to Brandt, who drives a shot low but eventually wide.

Min 46 | We are back underway. No changes for either team at half-time.

Germany 0-0 England: Half-time

We have an email from, someone we are guessing is an MK Dons fan: "With Dele Alli and Jake Livermore (5 apps on loan from THFC in 2008) running the show in Dortmund, is it fair to say that Milton Keynes Dons are the throbbing heart of everything positive about English football?"

Germany 0-0 England: first half

Min 45 | Germany try to attack again but Weigl with a cross/shot that goes wide and the referee blows for Half-time.

Min 43 | Bertrand absolutely slings a cross into the box but there are no England strikers in the box.

Min 41 | Dele Alli is put through one-on-one with Ter Stegen by Vardy and he strikes it straight at the German shotstopper. The best chance of the game so far by a country mile. England have been far better than the hosts in this first half.

Min 40 | Dier hits it and it goes over the bar. Not a bad effort, but not great.

Min 39 | Dele Alli is fouled as Rüdiger backs into him and uses his backside to obstruct the Spurs' attacker. Free now for England in an ideal spot outside the box.

Min 37 | Podolski has a crack! It goes well over the bar though as Hart barely moves.

Min 35 | Cahill misjudges a header to clear and it lands to Brandt in behind. He tries to square it but it is cleared back out to him, not once but twice. His third attempt hits Cahill in the chest before England finally clear.

Min 32 | Kimmich struggling with Lallana at the moment. He fouls him again as he barges into him.

Min 30 | Lallana breaks free after robbing the ball from Kimmich, who gave a really poor pass, but after running 50 yards with the ball, he strikes the post.

Min 29 | After a few minutes walking around the pitch and jogging off whatever it was that ailed him, Weigl is back on the field.

Looks like Weigl won't be able to continue as he recieves treatment on the field. He does not look comfortable as he grabs his thigh. Dier was lucky not to get a card as he followed right through with that tackle.

Min 26 | Julian Weigl limping after a fairly heavy challenge from Dier, who lost possession with a poor first touch.

Min 25 | Corner for England as Walker chases a lost cause before volleying it into Hector's face on the endline and it goes out for a corner. Dier gets his head to the resulting corner but Ter Stegen collects with ease.

Min 23 | Alli clips a ball in around the back to Walker, who makes it just before it goes wide. He sends it high and back across the box but England can't do any more with it. Decent move. Alli heavily involved in everything positive that England have done so far.

Min 21 | England making a concerted effort to throw the ball around at the back and play it out from their defense. Almost caught once or twice and Germany are doing really well to close them down before forcing a hoof up the field but England's intent is there.

Min 19 | Sané looks for the through ball but Hart is out like a light and gathers.

Min 17 | Another Manchester player gives it away, this time a Manchester City player, in Leroy Sané as his cross-field pass doesn't reach its target. Alli gets it out wide but is outnumbered and he loses it.

Min 16 | Smalling gives the ball away cheaply before Podolski rifles a shot at the chest of Keane.

Min 15 | Vardy looks for Dele Alli in behind the back but Hummels makes it in front of him and half-clears. Ter Stegen does the job properly after that. Vardy has been looking very dangerous. 

Min 12 | Bertrand fouled by Leroy Sané down the left. Free to England and a brief respite for them.

Min 10 | Germany taking control of this one now with the lion's share of possession. Engand not quite sitting back but struggling to get a foot on the ball.

General concensus is that Vardy was looking for it but he got to the ball first and Ter Stegen jumped in his way, taking him down?!

Min 7 | Surely a penalty! Ter Stegen takes Vardy down as he gets his foot to the ball before the Barcelona goalkeeper. Through ball by Alli was inch perfect. How the referee did not see that as a penalty is beyond this humble live-feeder.

Min 5 | A through ball to Kimmich by Brandt has too much pace on it as Cahill sees it over the endline. Kimmich catches him with a shoulder to the back and he ends up on the ground. 

Min 3 | Lallana and Walker try to link up on the right. They do, twice, but the third time with Lallana looking for the Spurs' full-back, he sends it over the end line with just a little too much sauce on it. England with all of the possession so far.

Min 2 | A ball in over the top and Vardy nearly gets to it before Ter Stegen. 

Min 1 | We are underway in Dortmund. 

Germany v England: team news

Germany XI: Ter Stegen, Hector, Hummels, Kroos, Podolski, Weigl, Rüdiger, Kimmich. Sané, Brandt, Werner.

England XI: Hart, Walker, Bertrand, Keane, Cahill, Smalling, Livermore, Dier, Vardy, Alli, Lallana. 

Germany v England: live build-up

20:51 | Slight delay as Podolski gets the send-off he deserves. He is up now with Cahill for the coin toss.

20:39 | Just a few minutes out now at Signal Iduna Park, or the Westfalenstadion as it is known. Podolski having a good look around, soaking it all in no doubt, as they show a wonderful video celebrating his career in the German jersey.

20:19 | Eric Dier has played every minute of spurs' last 13 games. They only lost once in those games, against Liverpool.

20:10 | After 130 caps, Podolski will say goodbye to the English fans tonight. he has also scored 48 goals tonight and I'd be surprised if his teammates didn't try to tee him up for a handy one tonight. Aside from the fact that that's what you do in football, try to assist your attackers, it would be a nice gesture and would be nice for him to sign off with a goal.

20:03 | Dele Alli has turned into more of a secondary striker under Mauricio Pochettino. Looks like Lallana will play out wide and drop into midfielder moreso than the Spurs player. I have seen the word "experimental" thrown around regarding Southgate's team selection and it certainly is. It also gives Lithuania a major headache for Sunday as they won't know what to expect from England. 

19:55 | Timo Werner will make his debut tonight on the back of a mightily impressive season with RB Leipzig in which he has scored 14 goals in 24 games.

19:51 | Podolski also gets a start in his last every international and what will surely be an emotional night for him. We also get to see Julian Brandt in action and Joshua Kimmich. This should be fun. *Disclaimer: I am a massive fan of Julian Brandt to excuse me for any Brandt propoganda that I spew tonight.

19:31 | Barcelona's Ter Stegen starts in goals for Germany, while England do indeed look to be playing a 3-5-2 with Dele Alli and Adam Lallana either side of Jamie Vardy.

19:11 | The FA's Chairman, Greg Clarke, issues a comment on the terror attacks that took place in London earlier: "Our thoughts are with all of those who have been affected by this terrible incident."

"We will be recognising the bravery of the security services and all those involved at the England v Lithuania match on Sunday."

19:07 | Odds update. England are five to one on the nose, Germany are just under two to one and the draw at slightly less than four to one. Though we've seen England at enhanced odds of 18-1. Anything got to do with the England team that has been named?

18:58 | England's last trip to Germany ended in a 3-2 victory but before that, in 2010, they were beaten 4-1 with goals from Miroslav Klose, Lucas Podolski, and a brace from Thomas Mueller.

18:52 | And also, don't bet on England scoring in this one because Germany have not conceded 558 minutes without letting one past them. Three of those games were without Manuel Neuer, as Ter Stegen stepped in in his place twice, and Bernd Leno of Bayer Leverkusen for the other one. Tonight, the Bayern Munich player is out too but it remains to be seen who will replace him.

18:51 | England, on the other hand, have not lost since their defeat to Iceland in the Euros, but they have drawn two of the five games they have played.

18:44 | Germany have lost three of their last 16 games, against England, Slovakia and France. They are, however, unbeaten in their last six games since being knocked out of the Euros by France.

18:34 | There was a time when England well and truly had Germany's number. They beat them seven times between 1935 and 1966, but England have failed to beat them in consecutive games since then. The last time the teams played, of course, England won 3-2 with a late comeback win.

18:31 | Joachim Lowe had some really impressive things to say about Lukas Podolski, who will hang up his international boots tonight. He said, "It's not easy to replace Podolski in the team. He is unique. He is one of the greatest players that Germany has produced." That's some estemmed company he is joined by in that list.

18:25 | Cahill looks like he will start also but is suspended for Lithuania on Sunday and John Stones looks like he will start. 

18:02 | The Telegraph report this team and are referencing Conte's back three and his success with it as the reason, perhaps, for rolling the dice tonight with it. 

17:57 | There are rumours suggesting that England will go with a 3-5-2 tonight with question marks over who will play at the front. Sky Sports, however are saying that Jamie Vardy will start up front on his own. here is the rumoured team: Hart; Keane, Smalling, Cahill; Dier, Livermore, Bertrand, Walker; Alli, Lallana, Vardy.

17:50 | Lukas Podolski will take to the pitch for Germany for the final time this evening. He will captain the side before he heads to Japan to join Vissel Kobe. Podolski made his international debut in 2004, and has enjoyed a fruitful international career. “It's hard not to be melancholy when I think about going into the dressing room for the last time, seeing my kit for the last time, warming up for the last time", he said in the lead up to the match.

17:05 | Burnley centre-back Michael Keane is expected to be handed his first senior cap against the world champions on Wednesday. The 24-year-old, who came through the youth ranks at Manchester United, has been an international at Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 level and curiously, represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-17 level before switching allegiences.

16:30 | Cologne-based journalist Archie Rhind-Tutt has been crunching the numbers on the opportunities given to young players in England and Germany. The results were remarkable. Between them, members of the England u21 squad have 206 Premier League appearances. While members of the Germany u21 squad have 1,137 Bundesliga appearances.

15:55 | Gareth Southgate has said that England needs to lose their "island mentality" and have the opportunity to learn from nations such as Germany, telling reporters today: "We are different. We have to get off the island and learn from elsewhere. We have some great strengths and if we couple those with some other traits we could be more powerful than anybody, but we have a lot of work to get to that point".

15:00 | Relive the incredible Germany 1-5 England from that balmy September evening in 2001. One of the finest night's in England footballing history.

14:00 | Spain's World Cup qualifying game against Israel in Gijon is causing controversy in the Asturian city. Read what AS Director Relaño has to say on the matter. 

13:00 | Former German international Bastain Schweinsteiger announced his move to MLS side Chicago Fire. This is the reaction. 

11:50 | Southgate's men will be sporting a new Nike manufactured dark blue away kit for the first time tonight. Take a closer look here.

11:10 | Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe was the surprise call-up for England. This is what the forward had to say.

10:20 | Good morning and welcome to our live build-up ahead of the 20:45 kick-off in Dortmund as Germany welcome the "Three Lions" to the Signal Iduna Park.

Germany vs England: preview

Joachim Low referred to England as "a team in transition" during his pre-match press conference. Since the purportedly 'Golden Generation' of Gerrard, Terry, Owen, et al faded in to the television studios, England appear to have been in a perpetual state of transition. It is reassuring to refer to transition. It permits mediocrity based on the pretence that somewhere, there is a concrete objective; that a construction project is taking place. If new manager Gareth Southgate presides over the completion of a construction project, he will be the first to have done so in recent years.

The England team travel to Dortmund for a friendly with Joachim Low's perpetually-strong Germany. Gareth Southgate will be keen to cast his eye over new players, and begin to shape the Three Lions in to a team that will be able to compete in Russia in 2018, qualification permitting. The last time to two rivals faced each other, England emerged victorious in an eye-catching encounter in Berlin. Ultimately, this served only to instil false hope ahead of Euro 2016, where stoic Iceland abruptly halted England's progress, and ended the unadorned Hodgson era.

Team news

England

Southgate raised eyebrows, slightly, with the first squad selection of his official tenure, which included 34 year old Jermaine Defoe, whose rich form for struggling Sunderland could see him make his first appearance for England since a 0-2 defeat to Jorge Sampaoli's Chile in 2013. Meanwhile, Southgate called Theo Walcott on the Arsenal forward's birthday, to advise him of his omission from the squad.

Phil Jones and Michail Antonio will be unavailable for selection. Both have been forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury. Meanwhile, the absence of Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane, and Daniel Sturridge creates a lack of depth in attack. Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, and Tottenham's careering wing back Danny Rose, are also consigned to the treatment table.

There is a trio of potential debutants in the squad, in the form of Southampton pair Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse, and Burnley defender Michael Keane, who has been in superb form this season. Another newcomer is the England kit; a dark-blue number that will get its first run out in Dortmund.

Germany

The hosts will be without four players at the Westfalenstadion. Manuel Neuer, Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler, and Mario Gomez are injured.

Lukas Podolski will win his 130th cap, and captain the side, in his final match for Germany before moving to ply his trade in Japan.

While Podolski is leaving the international fold, Timo Werner is entering it. The 21 year old, of much-maligned RB Leipzig, could win his first cap on Wednesday evening.

Match facts

England have lost only one of their last 16 away internationals, against Spain in November 2015 (W9 D6). Yet Germany have an equally formidable record in Dortmund, where they have lost just one of 18 games, losing to Italy in the 2006 World Cup (W15 D2).

Germany have not conceded a goal since Euro 2016, when Antoine Griezmann netted for France. That's 558 minutes.

Germany vs England: odds

Lukas Podoski is at 5/1 to open the scoring on his final match for Germany.

Feeling confident, England fans? The Three Lions are at 18/1 to win with this excellent Betfair price:.

Bet on Germany v England now

Germany vs England: live stream build-up