England captain Harry Kane has admitted to 'feeling the pressure' following of the Three Lions' showdown with Germany at Wembley Stadium.
England came into the game winless in the Nations League, with their slender defeat at the hands of Italy seeing them relegated from their group. The result saw some call Gareth Southgate's position into question, with supporters in Milan booing the side off the pitch.
It looked as though the hosts were on the way to another defeat after Ilkay Gundogan and Kai Havertz put the visitors in control, but quick-fire strikes from Luke Shaw and Mason Mount drew Southgate’s men level. Manchester United defender Shaw's strike ended England's run of five hours and 26 minutes without a goal from open play.
The Three Lions then looked like they were going to run out victors as Harry Kane converted his 51st international goal from the penalty spot after the irrepressible Jude Bellingham was fouled in the area. It was not meant to be, however, as Havertz notched his second of the evening after Nick Pope failed to deal with Serge Gnabry's effort from range.
Despite things ending all square, Kane praised his teammates for responding to the growing pressure around the England team ahead of the World Cup in Qatar in less than two months' time. Speaking to Channel 4 after the final whistle, he said: "Look, we're playing Germany at Wembley and whatever [the] competition, that's always a big game.
"Obviously, I feel like the boys have been under pressure. We've all been under pressure a little bit with the recent results and I think we all come out here with a point to prove.
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"Of course, there is still lessons we can learn and mistakes that were made but we scored three goals. I feel like this will put us in a positive mindset going forward now."
England looked shell-shocked after Hansi Flick's men scored their second goal but Kane was impressed with how England responded, even if he was frustrated by the way they let their lead slip in the 87th minute.
Discussing the performance, he continued: "A lot better, you know. I thought we played really well tonight and we were unfortunate to go 2-0 behind. Obviously, a mistake and then a great goal from the edge of the box. We done really well to stay in the game and get back into it, get the lead and then unfortunately another error.
"The fight in the team and the mentality in the team was shown out there today. We didn't get the win but I'm proud of what we done and I think it puts us in a good place ahead of the World Cup."
