Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's international friendly between England and Germany at Wembley!
It is always a special occasion when these two old rivals meet, and despite a number of withdrawals from the England camp it should be no different tonight as Gareth Southgate's side host the world champions in their penultimate game of 2017 - with just seven months to go until next summer's World Cup.
We will have an in-depth look at both sides a little later, but first let's check out the team news...
ENGLAND STARTING XI: Pickford; Stones, Jones, Maguire; Trippier, Dier, Livermore, Rose; Loftus-Cheek; Abraham, Vardy
ENGLAND SUBS: Walker, Hart, Bertrand, Gomez, Keane, Cork, Young, Rashford, Lingard, Cahill
GERMANY STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Ginter, Hummels, Rüdiger; Kimmich, Gündogan, Özil, Halstenberg; Draxler, Werner, Sané
What can we make of those two sides, then?
Well, the headline news is that Gareth Southgate has handed debuts to no fewer than three players, and that tally could grow to five by the end of the night as the uncapped Gomez and Cork are also on the bench. Jordan Pickford, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham are all included for their international bows tonight in an inexperienced England side.
It is not exactly a star-studded XI named by Southgate, and the most-capped player in the starting lineup is Phil Jones, who has played for his country 23 times before. Such a lack of experience must surely be a worry with only seven months to go until the World Cup.
Southgate's hand has been forced to some extent by seven withdrawals from the squad - including key players such as Kane, Alii, Henderson and Sterling - which means that he makes eight changes from the starting XI from their last outing. However, that lack of depth is worrying, particularly when compared to a nation like Germany.
Looking on the bright side, this is a chance for Southgate to have a look at any players who might otherwise have flown under the radar a little, and there were a number of young players who have emerged from almost nowhere in the build-up to the last two international tournaments.
The likes of Abraham and Loftus-Cheek - the latter of whom is expected to play in a number 10 role tonight - will be dreaming of making it into the World Cup squad, but they will likely need to impress a lot during this international break.
Danny Rose is included from the start tonight despite having only recent returned to fitness following a lengthy injury, while his Tottenham teammate Kieran Trippier will play on the other flank in a 3-4-1-2 formation which also includes Dier - another Spurs player.
Indeed, Dier will captain the team for the first time tonight, getting the armband in just his 22nd international appearance.
In total, that England team has just 101 international appearances between them, whereas Germany have 297 despite missing a number of key players themselves.
The likes of Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Muller, Shkodran Mustafi and Mario Gomez are all absent from Joachim Low's squad for this November double-header, yet they are still able to name a team packed with quality.
Tonight's visitors do also have a debutant in their ranks, though, with RB Leipzig left-back Marcel Halstenberg making his first senior international appearance at the age of 26.
The wing-back was something of a surprise inclusion in Low's squad for these games, and tonight will be the latest step in a remarkable rise up German football for him having spent the majority of his career in the lower leagues.
Germany are without Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos due to a stomach virus tonight, but the likes of Mesut Ozil, Ilkay Gundogan and the in-form
Leroy Sane are all included for the visitors.
Indeed, there are four players who ply their trade in the Premier League for Germany including Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger, so despite it being a relatively unrecognisable England starting XI, there shouldn't be too many surprises in store for Germany tonight.
Hummels and Ginter make up the back three alongside Rudiger with Ter Stegen behind them - not a bad replacement when Neuer is unavailable.
At the other end of the pitch the dangerous Julian Draxler joins Sane in providing width for the attack, while Timo Werner is given the nod up front ahead of Sandro Wagner, despite the Hoffenheim striker having scored five goals in five appearances for his country since making his debut in June.
In all there are nine changes from Germany's last outing, with only Kimmich and Sane keeping their places.
Germany's changes are a result of their remarkable strength in depth, but if anything the opposite is true for England and this could be a difficult night for their young players against the world champions.
There are just seven months to go until the World Cup gets underway and England still have plenty of work to do if recent performances are anything to go by. The past two major tournaments have been unmitigated failures for England - being eliminated in the group stages of the 2014 World Cup and then by Iceland at Euro 2016 - and if the 2018 World Cup was starting tomorrow I suspect plenty of people would predict a similar story.
England's results have been decent enough in the build-up to this match - they have won their last four games across all competitions and have kept clean sheets in three of those, including their last two.
However, the manner of the performances have been hugely disappointing, and they plunged to new depths in the most recent international break when consecutive 1-0 wins against Slovenia and Lithuania would have sent more people to sleep than partying in the streets.
Of England's last 22 matches, only four of them have seen the Three Lions win by more than a one-goal margin despite playing the likes of Malta, Lithuania and Slovenia all twice in that time.
Of course, the number one priority is to win the games - and England ended up qualifying for the World Cup with one match still to spare and having dropped only four points throughout the campaign - but if Southgate's side can only scrape past some minnows then it doesn't bode well for their chances of going far at the World Cup.
There is an argument to suggest that England perform better against the better teams due to being afforded more space and not having to try to break teams down as much, and the display have in general been more exciting in their glamour friendlies.
However, the results have not been. England have lost just two of their 13 matches since the Euro 2016 humiliation at the hands if Iceland, and both of them came in these types of games against Germany and France earlier this year.
England have also faced Spain under Southgate's reign and looked set for an impressive Wembley win last November, only to concede two goals at the depth and be held to a 2-2 draw.
That means the Three Lions have failed to win any of their three friendlies under Southgate, and tonight could see them go four friendlies without a win for the first time since 2007. Indeed, defeat would make it three consecutive friendly losses for the first time since 1984.
England's best hope tonight is that they rarely lose at Wembley. They are unbeaten in their last nine games on home soil stretching back to March 2016, winning eight of those and drawing one - that late 2-2 draw with Spain.
A couple of those matches came elsewhere in the country, but at Wembley England have won 15 of their last 17 outings - with only one defeat in that time - while they are currently on a run of seven outings unbeaten at the national stadium.
England have also only lost one of their last nine home friendlies, although they were beaten by Chile and Germany in succession here four years ago.
The Three Lions face another difficult home schedule this month too, with Brazil following Germany to Wembley next Tuesday, so there will be plenty of people expecting another set of back-to-back defeats for Southgate's side this time around.
For Germany's part, they will go into next summer's World Cup amongst the favourites to lift the trophy once again, and should they pull that off then they would be the first team to retain the title since Brazil's Garrincha-inspired team of 1962.
Indeed, Germany would probably be able to leave out a team which would go far in the competition due to their sheer strength in depth, which they showcased by winning the Confederations Cup with a largely second-string squad this summer.
There were plenty of young players involved in that Confederations Cup triumph, and the future behind them even looks bright as Germany won the Under-21 European Championships this summer too, beating England along the way.
The senior side continue to go from strength to strength too, and they are unbeaten in all of their 19 matches since their Euro 2016 semi-final defeat at the hands of France last summer, winning 16 of those and drawing three.
That includes an ongoing run of seven consecutive wins heading into tonight's match, which is Germany's best run of form since November 1995 - a scary thought considering how strong they have been in the intervening years.
Another win at Wembley tonight would see them make it eight wins on the bounce for the first time since 1991, and considering they have scored 14 goals in their last three outings there will be no shortage of people backing Low's side to do exactly that.
Indeed, Germany have scored three or more goals in 11 separate occasions since last summer's European Championships, which is in stark contrast to some of England's recent results.
That free-scoring form helped Germany find the back of the net 43 times in their 10 qualifying games, which is a tally only Belgium could match. Joachim Low's side also only conceded four at the other end - a tally bettered only by Spain and England throughout the European section of qualifying.
It was a very impressive qualifying campaign throughout from Die Mannschaft, winning all 10 of their matches to claim the honour of being the only team to qualify for next summer's World Cup without dropping a single point.
They ended up 11 points clear of second-place Northern Ireland in Group C and proved - if it needed proving - that they can do it against high-quality opposition too en route to their Confederations Cup success, where they beat Chile in the final.
Germany's record in friendlies is not quite as impressive as it is in competitive fixtures, although I'm sure if their form had to dip off at any point then they would prefer it to be in these games of little consequence.
Joachim Low's side are unbeaten in their last five friendlies - stretching back to a shock 3-1 home defeat to Slovakia in May 2016, but of their last 13 friendly games they have won five and lost five. Their most recent saw them only manage a 1-1 draw with Denmark in June.
You have to go back to November 2015 for Germany's last defeat in an away game, when they lost to France in Paris, with Die Mannschaft having won five and drawn two of their seven since.
In qualifying Germany scored 20 goals in their five away games - an average of four per game - although in away friendlies they are winless since November 2014, losing one and drawing two since then.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Wembley which means that it is time for a prediction!
England are far from full strength tonight and, while Germany are missing some key players too, the visitors are better equipped to deal with it. Wembley defeats are rare for England, but I can see Germany inflicting one on this inexperienced side tonight.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: England 1-2 Germany
This will be the 32nd meeting between these two sides and, somewhat surprisingly, the overall record is locked at 13 wins apiece with five draws so far.
The most recent of those came in March of this year when Gareth Southgate took charge of his first match as permanent manager, although it was Lukas Podolski who stole the headlines with a stunning goal on his 130th and final international appearance to fire Germany to a 1-0 win.
Germany have also scored in 13 of their last 14 meetings with England, with the only exception coming at Euro 2000 when Alan Shearer scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win for England.
This will be Germany's 12th visit to Wembley, meanwhile, with the most famous of those coming in the 1966 World Cup final of course, which England won 4-2 after extra time courtesy of Sir Geoff Hurst's hat-trick.
Die Mannschaft have had better luck at this stadium recently, though, winning their last three visits and most recently coming out on top courtesy of a Per Mertesacker goal in November 2013.
Incredibly, you have to go back to March 1975 for England's last victory over Germany on home soil, when Colin Bell and Malcolm MacDonald scored in a 2-0 win for Don Revie's side.
Right, the players are out, the anthems have been sung and we're just about ready to go now! A quick reminder of the team news before we get started...
ENGLAND STARTING XI: Pickford; Stones, Jones, Maguire; Trippier, Dier, Livermore, Rose; Loftus-Cheek; Abraham, Vardy
GERMANY STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Ginter, Hummels, Rüdiger; Kimmich, Gündogan, Özil, Halstenberg; Draxler, Werner, Sané
An impeccably-observed minute's silence takes place before kickoff, with tomorrow marking Remembrance Day.
KICKOFF! Here we go then! Germany get us underway at Wembley!
Pickford needs to be alert in the very opening exchanges of his debut as he is sold short by a Maguire back-pass, but the keeper is quick and beats Werner to the ball.
CHANCE! Massive chance for England to take the lead after only two minutes! Vardy is released behind the Germany defence and plays a teasing low ball right across the face of goal. It eventually arrives to Trippier at the back post, but he can only find the side-netting. Perhaps he should have teed up Loftus-Cheek for a simple effort, but he can't really be blamed for going for goal himself.
Trippier again gets forward down the right flank and plays a low ball into the box which is cleared by Hummels. A very bright start to this game from the hosts!
That early chance is perhaps a sign of how England can be more dangerous against better opposition. They would rarely have been able to break in defence a defence sitting deep as recent ones have against them, but against the likes of Germany they can make the most of Vardy's pace.
CLOSE! Germany have their first big chance as Sane gets the better of a weak challenge from Jones inside the England area and immediately goes for goal, but he drags his effort into the side-netting.
England may be forced into an early change here - Phil Jones isn't moving freely and Michael Keane is getting ready to come on. It looks like Southgate wants to give Jones a chance to run it off, though.
Germany have settled into this match after that bright England start. The visitors are seeing more of the ball now and are beginning to gain a certain degree of control over this game.
Ozil floats a ball over the top into the penalty area and Sane has got the wrong side of Maguire, but he can't take it down. Good movement, but it was a difficult one for Sane to make anything of.
Vardy wins the ball well in the air and flicks it into the path of Abraham, who tries to lay it back to Loftus-Cheek. However, the bounce of the ball takes it skidding away from the Chelsea loanee as he was shaping to shoot.
It does look like there are chances for England in this game. There is space in the final third due to Germany's desire to commit men forward, which is not something England have experienced too often lately.
Phil Jones looks to have sufficiently recovered from his knock, by the way. Loftus-Cheek is now down and in pain, though, having been fouled by Rudiger after some nice skill on the right touchline. Free kick in a good crossing position...
...Trippier floats the ball towards the back post but Ter Stegen knocks it away from Maguire, whose eventual cross into the box is comfortably dealt with.
OFF THE BAR! Germany are inches away from breaking the deadlock in some style for Sane! The Manchester City man is afforded too much room just outside the area and unleashes a thunderbolt which crashes off the underside of the crossbar and bounces out. Pickford was well beaten there!
England respond with an attack of their own as Vardy again gets in behind the defence, but his cross towards Abraham is easy for Ter Stegen to collect.
CHANCES! Germany really should be ahead here, but some superb defending from England keeps them out!
Ozil finds space between the lines and threads a ball through for Werner to send him in on goal. Pickford produces a fine save to deny the striker, but the danger is not over and the ball bounces back to Sane. The Man City man takes his time before picking his spot, but Jones is back there to make a brilliant goalline clearance.
Once again the ball bounces out to a German player, but Draxler blazes it over and England hang on.
ENGLAND SUB: That will be Jones's final contribution. He never truly recovered from the injury he picked up earlier and now departs to be replaced by Joe Gomez - a fourth England debutant tonight.
Germany are in control of this one at the moment. They are knocking the ball about amongst themselves and really should be ahead having hit the bar and had one cleared off the line. England are second best here, which isn't a huge surprise.
SAVE! Rudiger strides forward from defence and tries his luck with a well-hit effort from range, but Pickford gets everything behind the ball and makes the save.
Cool stuff from Kimmich as he chests the ball back to Ter Stegen inside his own area after Trippier's cross had flown over the heads of Vardy and Abraham.
Hummels gets a talking-to from the referee after complaining about the award of a corner a little too rigorously for the officials' liking. The corner comes to nothing, though.
Here is that fine Pickford save and Jones block for your viewing pleasure...
Ten minutes to go until half time in this match and Gareth Southgate will be pretty pleased with how his side have applied themselves tonight. They have been second best for much of the game, but they are still holding their own.
CHANCE! Chance for England as Maguire again collects a Trippier free kick at the back post before picking out a pass for Rose. The Spurs full-back curls one towards goal from the edge of the area, but it hits his own player in a crowded penalty box.
CHANCE! Pickford is impressing on his international debut here! One pass forward beats the whole defence to send Werner clean through on goal, but the striker is again denied by a fine Pickford save.
Trippier is unhappy with Draxler here, telling him in no uncertain terms to get up after throwing himself to ground in search of a penalty.
CLOSE! England are so close to breaking the deadlock through debutant Abraham! The striker works space to shoot inside the area, but his effort is partially blocked by Rudiger. That sends the ball looping towards goal, and time seems to stand still for a moment before it drops inches past the post. Ter Stegen was as much a spectator as everyone else there.
SHOT! Loftus-Cheek strides forward and exchanges a few passes with Livermore. The West Brom midfielder gets into shooting range, but he drags a tame strike comfortably wide.
CHANCE! England are on top at the end of this half! Loftus-Cheek splits the Germany defence with a long pass forward which sends Vardy clean through on goal, but he tries to lob the keeper and can't steer it towards goal. Instead it goes towards Abraham, but the defence is there to nod it behind for a corner.
There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.
YELLOW CARD! Gomez picks up the first yellow card of the night for a cynical foul on Sane.
HALF TIME: England 0-0 Germany
The first half comes to an end at Wembley, and England wouldn't have wanted that whistle. The hosts were on top in the closing stages of that opening 45 minutes and could well have gone into the break ahead.
Germany have had the better of the game so far, though, and the best chances have fallen the way of the world champions. Some heroic defending and the woodwork have come to England's rescue, though, to keep things level at half time.
The closest we have come to a goal so far came when Pickford and Jones were both needed in quick succession to deny first Werner and then Sane.
Werner was sent clean through on goal by Ozil's pass only to be denied by a good save from Pickford, before the rebound dropped to Sane. The Man City man took his time before picking his spot, but Jones produced a stunning block on the line before the danger finally abated when Draxler fired over the crossbar.
Sane has also hit the crossbar with a thunderous strike from the edge of the area which left Pickford no chance, although the debutant England keeper did make another very good stop to deny Werner with six minutes to go until the break.
Germany will certainly feel that they should be ahead at the interval, but their performance has been impressive enough to suggest that they will create plenty more chances in the second half.
England have had chances of their own, though, particularly towards the closing stages of the half when Rose, Abraham and Vardy all threatened to break the deadlock.
The hosts nearly took the lead inside two minutes too when Vardy was released behind the defence, but Abraham could not get anything on the low ball into the box and Trippier fired his effort into the side-netting when the ball arrived to him.
KICKOFF: England get us back underway for the second half here at Wembley!
CHANCE! Another big chance at the start of the half for England! Trippier is in all sorts of space down the right and his cross finds Vardy unmarked inside the area. The Leicester man connects with a decent downward header, but Ter Stegen sticks out a big hand and claws it away. What a chance!
England have started both halves brightly now, and they will be hoping that this time they can prevent Germany from taking as much control of the game afterwards. These are encouraging signs from Gareth Southgate's side, though.
Germany have quickly resumed control of possession after that early scare, but Southgate will not be too perturbed by that. Vardy on the break has looked like England's most likely avenue to get a goal tonight.
Really good spell of possession from Germany as they keep the pressure on England and pin them deep into their own half. The hosts keep their shape, though, and Germany eventually have to settle for a free kick on the right flank.
England need to get their feet back on the ball and just keep possession for a while here. Germany are dominating it at the moment.
Good defending from Hummels as he puts an end to a good England break with a well-timed challenge. Livermore played the ball through to Abraham, but he couldn't take it in his stride and Hummels expertly dispossessed him.
More important defending from Hummels, who is this time needed to hack the ball over his own crossbar from inside the six-yard box. It was a really good move from England which resulted in Dier reaching the byline and putting the ball across the face of goal, but Hummels was there to deal with it.
YELLOW CARD! Livermore is the second name in the book tonight, also for a cynical challenge on Sane.
ENGLAND SUB: The hosts make their second change of the evening, and there is a huge ovation for Marcus Rashford as he replaces debutant Abraham.
Less than half an hour remaining in this match now, and we're still goalless. England would usually expect to win most games at Wembley, but considering their depleted squad and the quality of the opposition, a draw would be a decent result for Southgate's side tonight.
Germany haven't really got going in this second half so far. They continue to see more of the ball, but in the final third they haven't tested Pickford since the interval. England have defended well in this second half.
Loftus-Cheek and Pickford have been particularly impressive on their debuts tonight, and they may well have catapulted themselves into the thinking of Southgate on a regular basis now.
GERMANY SUB: Germany make their first change of the night as Emre Can replaces Draxler - and is immediately given the captain's armband.
Nothing to report in terms of chances for either side since that early one in this second half for England. This second period hasn't quite lived up to the entertainment of the first.
ENGLAND SUBS: Two more changes for England as Kyle Walker and Ryan Bertrand replace Trippier and Rose.
Really good defending again from Ginter as he hooks the ball away following a good cross from Bertrand. The defences are very much on top right now.
GERMANY SUB: Another change from the visitors sees Sandro Wagner replace Werner.
There is no way through for Germany at the moment. England are keeping their shape really well and have been very disciplined tonight.
Just over 10 minutes remaining in this one now and England are very much in this game - indeed there is nothing to separate them at the moment. This would be a very good result all things considered, and it could get better still.
Germany are still seeing most of the ball, but it is all coming inside their own half at the moment. England try to press them, but these German players are so comfortable and composed in possession.
Plenty of England fans may have been worried having seen their starting XI tonight against the world champions, but this inexperienced team - England's least experienced for 37 years - has performed well. Indeed, it has been a better display than many we saw from a full-strength team throughout the year.
UPDATE: There has been a notable result elsewhere on the international stage tonight, with Sweden beating Italy 1-0 in the first leg of their World Cup playoff. Italy are in danger of missing out on the World Cup for the first time since 1958.
ENGLAND SUBS: More changes for the home side as Livermore is replaced by Jack Cork, who comes on for his debut. Jesse Lingard also comes on in place of Vardy.
GERMANY SUBS: Germany respond with changes of their own as Man City duo Sane and Gundogan are replaced by Sebastian Rudy and Julian Brandt.
This second half has been very short on chances, but Southgate will be happy with the discipline his side have shown. They have kept their shape and offered Germany very little since the interval.
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.
England win a late free kick in a good crossing position...
CHANCE! England should have won it! Rashford's free kick is met by Maguire at the back post and the defender knocks it down into a dangerous area for Lingard. The Manchester United man really should score, but he blazes his finish over the crossbar from close range!
FULL TIME: England 0-0 Germany
What a chance for Lingard to win it late on, but as it is an inexperienced England side still pick up a good draw at home to the world champions.
Germany saw more of the ball and came closest to breaking the deadlock when Sane hit the bar and had an effort cleared off the line, but the visitors failed to threaten in the second half and in the end it is a deserved stalemate for England - who handed debuts to no fewer than five players tonight.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as England hold Germany to a goalless draw despite naming their least experienced side since 1980! I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
