England make five changes to the starting XI selected for the Hungary defeat. Kieran Trippier, John Stones, Bukayo Saka, Kalvin Phillips and Raheem Sterling, winning his 75th cap, replace James Justin, Conor Coady, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jude Bellingham and Jarrod Bowen. All drop to the bench except for the injured Justin. Marc Guéhi returns to the squad.
Germany make seven changes to the side named for the draw in Italy. David Raum, Lukas Klostermann, Nico Schlotterbeck, Jonas Hofmann, Ilkay Gundogan, Kai Havertz and former England youth international Jamal Musiala step up; Thilo Kehrer, Niklas Süle, Benjamin Henrichs, Leon Goretzka, Timo Werner, Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sané step down.
The teams
Our XI vs. @England 🇩🇪🏴#DieMannschaft #GERENG pic.twitter.com/sjWEKCymKV
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) June 7, 2022
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Ready to take on Germany! 💪 pic.twitter.com/7gos0L0DeP
— England (@England) June 7, 2022
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Preamble
The last time these two great rivals met – one year ago, give or take a couple of weeks – England pulled off one of the most memorable victories in their history. Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane scored late goals at Wembley in a round-of-16 victory during Euro 2020, a joyous occasion that gave Gareth Southgate’s team the belief to make it all the way to the final. But they were facing a different Germany last June. Joachim Löw’s side had been beaten in the groups by France and held by Hungary; now Hansi Flick’s team are nine unbeaten, having just held the Netherlands and Italy to draws away from home, Mannschaft momentum well and truly restored.
England by contrast were flying back then, having just won eight in nine, confidence coursing through their veins, the dream of becoming European champions spurring them on. Now they’ve just come off a dismal 1-0 defeat in Hungary, and are to a man completely knackered at the end of a long, seemingly never-ending season. They’ll need to regroup tonight in Munich, else they’ll find themselves behind the eight-ball in Nations League A3 a mere four days after the get-go. A year – give or take a couple of weeks – is a long time in football. Kick off at the Allianz Arena is at 7.45pm BST. It’s on!