England vs. Germany Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

England suffered their second defeat in four days as Germany strolled to a 1-0 win at Wembley on Tuesday night.

"

Hodgson claims 'harsh defeat' whilst admitting Germany were miles better with the ball than England. Oh, and 'the Germans' were bigger, too.

— Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) November 19, 2013"

The home side started the better and looked to attack with pace down the right in particular, with Andros Townsend a key outlet.

Steven Gerrard and Tom Cleverley, the midfield pairing, found him in space a number of times, but the end product was lacking more often than not. Indeed, that was a feature of England's play throughout the game; they managed to get behind Germany's back line on a number of occasions, but either too few numbers in the box or a poor decision for the final ball let them down.

Germany were content largely to play within themselves, breaking forward at pace when the chance presented itself.

It was from a set piece that the only goal of the match came, though. Joe Hart saved twice from headers in a matter of moments before Per Mertesacker sent a third header beyond the 'keeper's reach into the far corner to give Germany the lead before half-time.

After the break, the pattern of the game didn't change much; England countered at pace, looked neat and tidy for spells in midfield but failed to get a single shot on target.

Germany were the more incisive with their own counters, but Hart continued to make the odd impressive save to keep the score at 1-0.

Substitutions slowed the tempo a little before a spate of half chances near the end saw the game open up, but Germany were always comfortable without putting too much energy into this match.

"

Meanwhile at Wembley, England 0 Germany 1. Nothing you didn't know already - unless you imagined Joe Hart was one of England's main concerns

— Oliver Kay (@OliverKayTimes) November 19, 2013"

Key Player Grades

Joe Hart: B+

The only moment on which he let himself down was charging out of his penalty area to deal with a high ball he was never reaching, colliding with defender Chris Smalling instead. Hart made three or four top saves and dealt well with anything else put into his box.

Toni Kroos: B+

The Bayern Munich midfielder ran the game at a canter for long spells, operating in a deeper role than usual in the centre of the park. His relaxed but consistent passing and ability set the tempo for Germany to maintain their shape or break quickly after transitions.

Andros Townsend: C+

The Spurs man generates plenty of headlines for his pace and shooting from range, but despite leading the England attack down the flanks early on, rarely came up with any end product of note. He hit the base of the post once with a searing shot, but the rest were woefully off target and none of his crosses found a team-mate.

Position	Player	Grade
G	Hart	B+
D	Walker	C+
D	Smalling	C
D	Jagielka	B
D	Cole	C+
M	Townsend	C+
M	Gerrard	B
M	Cleverley	C+
M	Lallana	C+
F	Sturridge	C
F	Rooney	C

Position	Player	Grade
G	Weidenfeller	C+
D	Westermann	B
D	Mertesacker	B+
D	Boateng	C+
D	Schmelzer	C
M	S Bender	B
M	L Bender	B
M	Gotze	C
M	Reus	B
M	Kroos	B+
F	Kruse	C+

What's Next?

Both these nations will feature in the World Cup next summer, so these friendlies are little more than an exercise for managers to whittle down potential names for their squads at present. Roy Hodgson won't be impressed at suffering consecutive defeats, but there will be further friendlies ahead to hone his selections.

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