'It was an honour to play with Podolski' - Footballers pay tribute to Germany attacker

Current and former team-mates hailed the forward, who scored the winner in his last ever international game with Die Mannschaft

Lukas Podolski retired from international football in the only way he knew how - with a blistering left-footed strike to seal victory.

The former Bayern Munich, Koln, and Arsenal attacker rifled in the winner as Germany defeated England 1-0 in Dortmund, captaining the side for his last of 130 international appearances.

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Podolski was emotional after the win, telling reporters that he was proud with how his international career had turned out: "This is like a great movie. We win 1-0 and I score the goal. I know I have a left foot that problably god gifted me. I am proud of these last 13 years."

On Twitter, current and former team-mates also paid tribute to the 31-year-old, with Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan crediting him as "one of the key players in bringing the German squad back to world class."

Podolski's winner against England was his 49th international goal, the third highest for Germany, behind Miroslav Klose and Gerd Muller.

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