IN his last international game of a 13-year career, Lukas Podolski struck a brilliant winning goal to sign off by giving Germany a 1-0 win over England in a friendly Wednesday. Podolski led the side out as captain for the first time in his last international, and he hammered the ball to the top right corner from 25 meters to win it with just over 20 minutes remaining. England goalkeeper Joe Hart was given no chance, and Podolski had a look of incredulity as he wheeled away to celebrate. “I don’t know how much he paid for the England goalkeeper to let it in,” World Cup-winning teammate Thomas Mueller joked. “Normally fairy tales don’t happen in football,” England coach Gareth Southgate said. The 31-year-old Podolski had been honored before his 130th game for Germany and had his name chanted by fans during the match. He received a standing ovation when he went off in the closing stages, and he joined fans to return their affection after the game. “The way it ended today was like a film,” Podolski said. “We win 1-0 and I score the thing.” “Special players deserve a special farewell. It’s great for him,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said. England might have won the game, but lacked a clinical edge in front of goal. Southgate’s side had looked more likely to score before Podolski struck and the players will be able to take plenty of encouragement from the performance. “I’m not somebody that’s over positive about things if we’ve been defeated, but I have to be really pleased with how the players played, individually and in terms of the tactical system,” Southgate said after his first game since becoming coach on a permanent basis. “I’m very pleased with what we learned, the manner of the performance, and the one bit we missed was the finish,” Southgate said. It was England’s first defeat in its sixth game since Euro 2016. Many fans dusted off their Podolski jerseys for the game, while there was a good trade in Podolski scarves outside the stadium. (SD-Agencies) | 