England were denied victory against Poland after conceding a 92nd minute equaliser in Warsaw.
In a feisty encounter, England dominated the ball but often struggled to break down their compact opponents.
Tottenham striker Harry Kane went close in the first half, misjudging his header after good work by Raheem Sterling.
Kane should also have been played through by Kalvin Phillips, the Leeds midfielder making a great interception on the halfway line but then picking the wrong pass to Sterling when Kane would have been one-on-one with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Poland were also a threat on the counter, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski almost lobbing Jordan Pickford after showing great tenacity but not getting enough on his effort.
Tensions then boiled over as the half-time whistle went, Poland defender Kamil Glik appearing to pinch Kyle Walker’s neck. Walker did well not to react, but Manchester United defender Harry Maguire was incensed, earning himself and Glik yellow cards after rushing over to defend his teammate.
The same pattern continued in the second half, Phillips testing Szczesny from range before Maguire hit the post with a header from a Luke Shaw free-kick.
Kane then opened the scoring with his own effort from range, his swerving 30-yard strike flying past Szczesny into the bottom-right corner.
The goal moved Kane to 41 international goals from 64 appearances, above Michael Owen as England’s fifth highest scorer and only 12 goals behind Wayne Rooney’s all-time record.
Pickford almost cost England a goal with an embarrassing moment 10-minutes from the end, striking his clearance at the onrushing Swiderski before recovering in time to stop the ball from crossing the line.
The Three Lions then suffered heartbreak in added time, Lewandowski given time to cross the ball for Symanski to head home.
Manager Gareth Southgate must shoulder some of the blame for the late equaliser, failing to make any substitutions compared to Poland’s five. The lack of changes showed as the England players looked tired in the build-up to the goal, Mason Mount’s poor clearance giving Poland the ball back and Phillips being unable to close Lewandowski down quick enough.
Still, despite the goal ending England’s 100% record in Group I, it was an assured performance in a hostile arena.
The result also moves England to 16 points from six games, keeping them four points above Albania at the top of the group. With games to come at Wembley against Hungary and Albania, and away to Andorra and San Marino, their path to Qatar should be assured.
Featured image by Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.com, CC BY-SA 3.0 de; no changes made.
