Hofmann scores for Germany in England draw

Jonas Hofmann netted his third goal for the Germany national team on Tuesday night, although it wasn’t quite enough to secure a victory over England.

The second matchday of the new UEFA Nations League season saw Germany held to a 1-1 draw by England at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. Hansi Flick’s side were leading 1-0 after 51 minutes thanks to Jonas Hofmann (photo: imago/Sportimage), who powered a shot past Jordan Pickford for his third Germany goal after being brilliantly played in by Joshua Kimmich. Borussia’s top scorer in the 2021/22 Bundesliga campaign was replaced by Serge Gnabry shortly after his goal, ending a strong outing that also included a well-taken goal in the first half which was unfortunately ruled out for a narrow offside call.

The Three Lions managed to grab an equaliser shortly before the full-time whistle after Nico Schlotterbeck tangled with Harry Kane in the box and VAR awarded a penalty kick. It was emphatically despatched by the England captain in the 88th minute to provide the final 1-1 scoreline. “Scoring a goal for Germany is really special, so it’s a real shame that we conceded the equaliser so close to the end,” said Hofmann after the match, adding: “I think that it was a good performance for the most part; we created good chances, played positive, aggressive football and got stuck in. Our pressing wasn’t what we were aiming for at times in the first half, but all in all, I would say that it was a decent game.” Germany’s next game awaits on Saturday when they travel to Hungary (20:45 CEST kick-off).

Another win for Borges Sanches and Luxembourg

Yvandro Borges Sanches was able to make it two wins from two in the Nations League with his Luxembourg side. They were 1-0 winners over the Faroe Islands on Tuesday courtesy of a penalty from Gerson Rodrigues in the 74th minute. Borges Sanches started the game and was only subbed off shortly before the end against the ultimately nine men of the Faroe Islands, with René Joensen (67’) and Sölvi Vatnhamar (80’) both seeing red. Luxembourg’s next fixture will see them take on tougher opposition in the form of Turkey this Saturday from 20:45 CEST.

Germany’s U21s celebrated a 2-1 victory in their final European qualifier against Poland, getting revenge for their 4-0 defeat in the reverse fixture. Luca Netz didn’t feature in the game, with Antonio Di Salvo’s side having already secured top spot in the group and their place at the 2023 European U21 Championship. Both of Germany’s goals came thanks to Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko.