England starlets Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tammy Abraham and Jordan Pickford make World Cup case

England’s most inexperienced team for 36 years – 101 caps in the starting line-up – fought back after a shaky start, with Loftus- Cheek, who has made only 29 Premier League appearances, outstanding on his senior debut.

Manager Gareth Southgate said: “Ruben did everything that I know he can. It took him 10 minutes to realise, ‘I’m OK here, I can play’ – and he is capable of anything.

“He has so many good attributes. He has been a top performer in our junior teams for a long time. He has the physical attributes and he can handle the ball. I’m really pleased with him. I have watched him do that since under 16 level. We believe in him.”

Loftus-Cheek, 21, who has been outstanding since joining Crystal Palace on loan for the season from Chelsea in the summer, said: “I’m really happy. It was a tough game against a good Germany side. It was very tactical.

“With the age of the squad, it was good for the young players. I certainly learned a lot.

“Gareth just said do your best like you normally do. I had him coaching me for nearly three years in the Under-21s so it wasn’t too new. 

“As for going to the World Cup, it’s still a long season and I look to improve, so I think there’s a chance.

“I have to keep getting better, and hopefully there’s a chance to get on the plane.” 

Jesse Lingard scythed the ball over the bar from five yards with the final kick of the match, which would have seen England sink a world champion German team unbeaten since the Euro 2016 semi-finals.

“We used the ball really well, and we created a couple of really good chances,” added Southgate.

Skipper for the night Eric Dier said: “We did well against a very well-oiled machine in Germany.

“They didn’t really hurt us. We had periods where we controlled the game and we are disappointed we didn’t score.” 

England have called up Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn to replace broken finger victim Jack Butland to their squad for the friendly with Brazil at Wembley on Tuesday.