England and Germany will renew what is an historic rivalry when they meet in the knockout stages of Euro 2020 at Wembley on Tuesday evening.
There have been some iconic matches between the two nations at major international tournaments in the past, although this will be their first competitive meeting since the 2010 World Cup when Germany claimed a 4-1 victory.
England’s route through to the last 16 has been solid if unspectacular, with the Three Lions having not even conceded a goal on their way to finishing top of Group D, although they only scored two of their own.
Today's the day.
— England (@England) June 29, 2021
Germany did not enjoy such serene progress, as they were six minutes away from being eliminated from the competition before a late Leon Goretzka strike salvaged a 2-2 draw against Hungary, which was enough to take Joachim Low’s side through as runners-up in Group F.
That has set up this mouth-watering last-16 tie at Wembley, as the two nations prepare to do battle for a place in the quarter-finals.
England to Rewrite the History Books
Germany have an impressive record against England in the knockout stages of major international tournaments, as they have won the last four such meetings, a run that dates back to the 1970 World Cup.
England’s last success in a one-off knockout game against the Germans was the 1966 World Cup final, with the Three Lions having suffered plenty of heartbreak in the fixture since then, including their penalty shootout defeats at both Italia 90 and Euro 96 on home soil. They did beat Germany in a Euro 2000 group game but it mattered little in the end as Kevin Keegan’s side were knocked out when losing to Romania in their next match.
There was also a famous Wembley meeting between the two in October 2000 when a Didi Hamman goal gave the visitors a 1-0 win in a World Cup qualifier – a result which forced Keegan to resign immediately afterwards.
Gareth Southgate’s side have shown renewed steel in recent years, reaching the semi-finals of both the 2018 World Cup and inaugural UEFA Nations League, while they are currently on a nine-match unbeaten run, with eight of those games ending in victory.
That form is in stark contrast to a Germany side that won just once during the group stage and were beaten by North Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier just a few months ago.
Now appears to be the time for England to finally get over their German hoodoo and the Three Lions can be backed to qualify for the quarter finals at 10/13.
Nobody Will be Leaving Early at Wembley
There is arguably no fixture in world football more synonymous with a penalty shootout than England vs Germany, with Die Mannschaft having beaten the Three Lions on spot kicks at the semi-final stage of both the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96.
Both teams are no strangers to being involved in shootouts at major competitions, with England having contested eight in total, the most recent of which ended in victory at the last World Cup against Colombia.
Meanwhile, Germany have been involved in six shootouts, winning each of the last five, including their success against Italy during the Euro 2016 quarter finals.
There certainly feels like an air of inevitability that Tuesday’s contest will once again go the distance, so backing either team to advance via penalties at 8/1 could be the way to go.
Sterling Could be England’s Hero Again
Raheem Sterling has scored both of England’s goals at the finals to date, with the Manchester City man netting the winners against both Croatia and the Czech Republic.
After a slow start to his international career, the 26-year-old has now scored 12 goals across his last 17 internationals and he is almost certain to retain his place in Southgate’s starting XI on Tuesday despite England bosting an abundance of talent in the final third.
The former Liverpool player should certainly have the pace to hurt a German backline that is not the quickest and he may prove a useful asset for England, particularly on the counterattack.
Sterling has never scored against Germany, but he is priced at 14/5 to end that wait on Tuesday.
*All odds correct at time of writing