By John Marshall
Roy Hodgson described Saturday’s remarkable comeback 3-2 win over Germany as the best night of his England reign.
England recovered from a two-goal deficit, Eric Dier heading a dramatic last-minute winner to complete a 3-2 victory against Germany in their international friendly in Berlin.
World champions Germany appeared destined for a routine win thanks to goals from Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez either side of the break, until Harry Kane pulled a goal back and substitute Jamie Vardy equalised with 15 minutes remaining.
The comeback was sealed when a towering Dier headed past Manuel Neuer in injury time.
Hodgson hailed England afterwards but quickly urged his players to remain humble ahead of Euro 2016, which kicks off in June.
“You always hope your best night’s ahead of you,” he said. “I’m rather hoping there’ll be one of them ahead of me. But best night so far? Yes, why not. I’ll give you that one.
“It’s important for us to remain humble in these moments. We’ve got an awful long way to go before we can claim to be like the Germans with what they’ve achieved in the last few years. But it was a great performance.
“It was good to see the players play their way back into the game. It showed character, but also a lot of quality in terms of our passing, poise and movement.
“I’m so pleased for the players and that we have carried on from where we left off against France in such a wonderful iconic arena against the world champions.”
Hodgson added: “We must be careful attaching too much importance on it. Had we lost the game 3-2, and the Germans had scored late on, I wouldn’t have been sitting here bitterly disappointed.
“I would still have been happy with the way the team approached the game and the progress the young players are making.
“What worries me now is that, while enjoying this night and admitting it’s my best with England so far, I’m worried a lot of the criticisms we’ve had in the past will be forgotten and we’ll be lifted up. This is a team that is definitely a work in progress.
“Let’s keep these players’ feet on the ground, keep them humble. Let’s keep them hungry to learn from their mistakes.”
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