Jermain Defoe urges England to reproduce character of Germany comeback win

Jermain Defoe has urged England to reproduce the character of last year’s famous comeback win against Germany when the teams reconvene on Wednesday in Dortmund.

Gareth Southgate takes charge of his first match since being appointed Sam Allardyce’s successor on a permanent basis here in Germany, almost exactly a year on from one of the most impressive results of Roy Hodgson’s tenure.

England recovered from 2-0 down to emerge with a 3-2 win courtesy of three goals in the final half an hour as a youthful side showed promise that would ultimately be dashed in a disappointing Euro 2016 campaign.

Defoe has returned to the international setup for the first time since November 2013 but was an avid spectator that night and believes England must deliver a similar performance to help rebuild momentum ahead of next year’s World Cup finals in Russia.

“I remember watching the game and I was really impressed with the young lads, with their character more than anything,” the Sunderland striker told Standard Sport.

“It is difficult when you are young and you come into this environment. There is a lot of pressure when you are playing against a team as experienced as Germany. They know how to do it, they know how to do well in tournaments because they have always done well. So probably the mentality of the younger players, to come back from losing and actually win the game, that is not an easy thing to do.

“You always need to make a statement, to be honest. All my time involved with England, every game, home or away, friendly or qualifier, it is always important to make a statement.

“We always have to play well and it is just part and parcel of it. The most important thing is winning. Sometimes at your club, you hear people say things like ‘well, it doesn’t matter how you win – you can’t always play well but as long as you win…’ and that still remains the same.

“It is important to win games, even friendlies, and it is good if you can stick to a gameplan and win it perfectly but it is not always going to be the case. The spirit is unbelievable here. We joined up on Sunday night and talking to the boys, seeing the players I’ve not seen before, the spirit of the lads is brilliant.

“We just need to stick together and believe in each other. That’s when you can achieve good things.”

Gary Cahill will captain the side while Raheem Sterling is a doubt with Southgate mindful of his recent workload at Manchester City, particularly with Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Lithuania in mind, while Phil Jones could face up to a month out after suffering a toe injury in training on Tuesday.

Despite England’s perennial failings at major tournaments, Cahill insists there is no inferiority complex when facing World Cup holders Germany.

“Am I intimidated? Me personally, no,” he said. “I’m certainly respectful of the history of what they’ve done but man for man I’m confident in the squad we’ve got and players we have when I’m going out to face – like against Spain.

“I’m respectful of what they’ve done and achieved as players. I’m respectful that they’re top Champions League players and win trophies but I’m confident in my own team-mates.”