Chelsea legend Joe Cole has heaped praise on England duo Mason Mount and Bukayo Saka following their impressive performance in England’s 3-3 draw with Germany.
The three Lions suffered an early blow in the second half after Gundogan gave the visitors the lead. Kai Havertz added Germany’s second in the 67th minute.
England took control after Gareth Southgate introduced Mason Mount and Bukayo Saka into the game. Gareth Southgate’s men scored twice in a space of five minutes to draw level with Germany thanks to Luke Shaw and Mason Mount’s goals.
Joe Cole has hailed Gareth Southgate’s decision to bring on Mason Mount and Bukayo Saka as the game changer.
Related Posts
What did Joe Cole say?
The Former Chelsea midfielder said on Channel 4: “The Mount-Saka link-up, what a finish. He’s played it in. Mason will be first to admit he’s not been at his best but he took that with such confidence and the place erupted. So much passion.”
Joe Cole added that he saw some positives in England’s performance against Germany.
“There are so many positives to take out of the game, particularly after the run we’ve had where we’ve not been at it.
“There are so many positives. Almost the result’s not that important, this team showed something that we can hang onto for Qatar, where they’ve got something in them, where they can produce a performance like that so we can all be positive going into Qatar.
“You can play friendlies and to learn much but the lads have been exposed to real pressure.
“It is not exactly the same as tournament pressure but everyone has an opinion. To go 2-0 down against a team like Germany and to show the personality to get back into the game, you learn something.
“It is not perfect preparation, but it is good preparation.”
The England Icon was also full of praise for 19-year-old England midfielder Jude Bellingham.
Bellingham was excellent in the middle for the three lions and won the penalty for England that resulted in England’s third goal of the night.
Joe Cole continued: “Jude Bellingham was outstanding tonight. Getting bodies in the box. Luke Shaw does the right thing first getting good contact and you need that in a bad moment. A vital goal for this group.”
Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand has thrown his support for Harry Maguire after another costly error against Germany.
The Manchester United legendary defender wrote on Twitter, saying: “I feel for Harry, every mistake is being punished and scrutinized.
“He needs to be strong mentally to get through this! Playing with no games at this level always leaves you open.”
Harry Maguire is not the only England player to make an error. Nick Pope’s failure to properly hold a long-range shot resulted in Kai Havertz’s second goal for the night.
Asked about Nick Pope’s error, Southgate said: “It is an error and of course, he’s going to be down but the team has to be together and we have done that all week,’ said Southgate when asked about his goalkeeper’s mistake.
“Tonight, in the end, a couple of errors have cost us the goals but I’ll focus on the fact they played with tremendous spirit and showed a belief that we haven’t shown in the last few games. I thought the crowd saw that and rose to that.”
