Germany 1 England 2:THERE IS much here in which England deserve to revel, but the most gratifying aspect of all must be that they did not let Germany limit them to a galling draw. While a misunderstanding between the captain John Terry and the substitute goalkeeper Scott Carson allowed an equaliser, the visitors pulled out of any descent into self-pity. They clinched a fully merited win against feeble opponents.
With six minutes left, Terry more than atoned for any error. The captain climbed to head home a free-kick from the outstanding Stewart Downing. The team had been on the verge of re-establishing the lead before that, when Shaun Wright-Phillips hit a post from 20 yards.
Few had supposed Gabriel Agbonlahor's debut here would come with a place in the starting line-up yet, as with previous surprises under Fabio Capello, the decision seemed logical. England's side showed Capello deemed the opposition's centre back to be somewhat cumbersome. By pairing Agbonlahor with Jermain Defoe he had an alliance of elusive movers.
There were signs of promise in the first minute, too. Defoe was offside when sent clear by his partner, but it looked as if they would be able to complement one another.
Each team may have been far from full-strength, but it was the weakness of Germany that was glaring in the first half. The opener that Joachim Löw's side conceded was laughable. When Downing curled in a corner from the right, goalkeeper Rene Adler missed the ball entirely. It then broke off Agbonlahor before Matthew Upson turned it home to record his first goal for England.
So incapable did Germany look the visiting fans soon deemed it safe to chant, "Are you Scotland in disguise?"
Capello's side then had an air of easy confidence. From the balance in central midfield between Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick, to the speed and width of the attack, England seemed well-equipped.
In contrast, Germany were disjointed and when Jermaine Jones shovelled a pass straight out of play, the home crowd cannot have been wholly surprised. Their side came to life solely at set-pieces with Heiko Westermann, for instance, heading askew from Bastian Schweinsteiger's free-kick in the 33rd minute.
The surging confidence could be seen all over Capello's line-up. Downing was uninhibited enough to cut in from the left for an effort that needed a competent save from Adler. This friendly held significance then, particularly for the Germany fans, who booed their players from the field at half-time.
As has so often been the case, however, the most potent threat to England in periods of domination was England themselves. In the space of a minute a ghastly miss from a chance that would effectively have ended the contest was followed by Germany's equaliser. The blunder was Darren Bent's. The replacement for Defoe was put through by Barry but after rounding the substitute goalkeeper Tim Wiese, he then put the ball wide of a post.
It was so outlandish it left minds boggling. That, at least, may be England's most viable excuse for what ensued. The ball was knocked forward by Germany and Terry tried to shield it in the hope that Carson, on for James, would gather it.
Patrick Helmes capitalised on the complacency. Carson had not advanced fast enough and the striker, Miroslav Klose's replacement, got a touch to roll the ball into an unattended net.
Until then it had been England who held the edge. Downing, revelling in the occasion, forced his way through a tackle by Schweinsteiger before putting a shot wide.
There was much encouragement here, even if that slipped from the mind when Carson had to pull off a save from Marko Marin that would have put Germany on course for an outlandish win.
Instead it would be England who reached the deserved destination of success in Berlin, where Germany had not lost for 35 years.
GERMANY: Adler (Wiese, h-t); Friedrich (Tasci, 68), Mertesacker, Westermann, Compper (Schafer, 77); Schweinsteiger, Jones (Marin, h-t), Rolfes, Trochowski; Klose (Helmes, h-t), Gomes (Podolski, 57). Subs not used: Hinkel, Hitzlsperger, Weis.
ENGLAND: James (Carson, h_t); Johnson, Terry, Upson, Bridge; Wright-Phillips (Crouch, 90), Carrick, Barry, Downing; Agbonlahor (Young, 77), Defoe (Bent, h-t). Subs not used: Robinson, Lescott, Richards, Mancienne, Davies, Parker, Bullard.
Referee M Busacca (Switz).
