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After a dramatic end to the group stage, we now know the full line-up for the knockout stage of Euro 2020. In a huge game in the Round of 16, old rivals England and Germany face off at Wembley.
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The rivalry between England and Germany is a massively storied one dating back to the 1966 World Cup final, but in recent years we’ve seen some equally dramatic meetings between the two.
So with this in mind, it’s time to take a look back at the last five competitive meetings between England and Germany as we build up to what promises to be an incredible clash.
#5 England 1-1 Germany – Germany won 5-6 on penalties (UEFA Euro 1996)
Probably the most dramatic meeting between England and Germany post-1966 came in the semi-finals of Euro 1996.
The tournament took place in England, and Terry Venables’ side captured the imagination of the fans like never before, riding on a crest of a wave into the semi-finals to face their old rivals.
Germany, for their part, were quietly impressive during the tournament, sailing through a tricky group before eliminating a dangerous Croatia side in the quarter-finals.
Early on, it looked like this semi-final would go England’s way, just as the 1966 World Cup final had. Alan Shearer opened the scoring with a well-worked header from a corner after just three minutes.
13 minutes later, though, Germany were level following an excellent finish from Stefan Kuntz, and from there, the game developed into a cagy yet entertaining encounter. When normal time couldn’t split the sides, the game went to extra-time, with the added jeopardy of the Golden Goal rule making things even more intense.
Both sides could’ve won the game; Kuntz had a second goal overruled for a foul, while Darren Anderton and Paul Gascoigne missed huge chances for England. In the end though, the game went the same way that a previous meeting in the 1990 World Cup did – with Germany winning after a penalty shoot-out.
Five players from each side scored before current England boss Gareth Southgate infamously missed his spot-kick, allowing Andy Moller to fire Germany into the final.
Germany went on to win the tournament, while England would not get as far again until the 2018 World Cup.
#4 England 1-0 Germany (UEFA Euro 2000)
Four years after their epic meeting at Euro 1996, England and Germany met again in the group stages of Euro 2000. It would be a very different match.
Not only were both sides far weaker than they’d been during that game at Wembley, but they were also in desperate need of a win following poor results in their opening game.
The match simply couldn’t touch the drama of 1996, although it did come close at times with both sides missing gilt-edged chances throughout the contest.
Germany goalkeeper Oliver Khan tipped a Michael Owen header onto the post, while Paul Scholes also saw a shot well-saved. And Mehmet Scholl and Carsten Jancker both missed huge chances for Germany, with Jancker’s in particular looking easier to score.
Alan Shearer would be the man to settle the game in the end. He found himself inexplicably unmarked in the penalty box, and managed to steer a David Beckham free-kick home with a beautiful diving header.
England celebrated their win wildly, as was to be expected, but their glory was only fleeting. Three days later they crashed out of the tournament following a loss to Romania, while Germany were also sent packing after a one-sided thumping at the hands of Portugal.
#3 England 0-1 Germany (2002 World Cup qualifier)
Germany didn’t have to wait long at all for revenge on England for their loss at Euro 2000. The two rivals were drawn together in the qualifying stages for the 2002 World Cup, and so just four months after their match in Charleroi, they faced off again.
This time, the game was a historic one as it was the final match to be played at the old Wembley Stadium before the famed ‘twin towers’ were torn down in order to build the new stadium.
England fans were hoping for a repeat of the 1966 World Cup final – or at least their Euro 2000 win – but it wasn’t to be.
A dull, rain-soaked game was won by a Dietmar Hamman free-kick after just 14 minutes. England tried desperately to find an equaliser, but lacked the craft and nuance, and the game petered out with Rudi Voller’s side picking up a big win.
The drama wasn’t done there, however, as England boss Kevin Keegan resigned in shame after the match, leaving English football in a state of total disarray.
In essence, this was one of the darkest days in Three Lions history.
#2 Germany 1-5 England (2002 World Cup qualifier)
Just shy of a year after that fateful game at Wembley, a much-changed England travelled to Munich to face off with Germany with a spot at the 2002 World Cup essentially on the line.
New boss Sven-Goran Eriksson had ushered younger, more vibrant players into the England squad, and the likes of Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and and Emile Heskey were determined to settle the score with their rivals.
Germany actually took the lead in the game, with Carsten Jancker scoring after just nine minutes. However, England began to take over the match, and found an equaliser just minutes later through Owen.
Gerrard fired England into the lead on the stroke of half-time with a wonderful long-range goal, but even the most optimistic Three Lions fan could never have anticipated what would happen next.
Eriksson’s side went goal-crazy in the second half, tearing Germany apart with their attacking play and making Rudi Voller’s side look stuck in the mud. Owen completed his hat-trick, and finally Heskey added a goal too, giving England a ludicrous 1-5 win.
The match was the first time Germany had lost a World Cup qualifier on home soil, and it was also their heaviest defeat since a 1958 loss to France.
England would go onto the World Cup much-buoyed by the result, but somehow the Germans had the last laugh. They made it to the tournament via a play-off – and then went all the way to the final, while Eriksson’s men had to settle for a quarter-final elimination.
#1 Germany 4-1 England (2010 World Cup)
Incredibly, the most recent competitive meeting between Germany and England took place over a decade ago, in the round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Coming into the game, the trajectory of the teams could not have been further apart.
A highly rated and experienced England side were favoured as genuine World Cup contenders, but laboured through a weak group that included the USA, Algeria and Slovenia. Germany, meanwhile, had eased through their group, scoring five goals in the process despite a shock loss to Serbia.
Many observers still favoured the more experienced England side, but some woeful defending early in the game put Germany 2-0 ahead after just half an hour, with goals coming from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski.
England hit back before half-time, pulling a goal back from a Matthew Upson header. And minutes later, they appeared to have equalised when Frank Lampard’s shot clearly beat Manuel Neuer. Somehow, though, referee Jorge Larrionda erroneously believed the ball hadn’t crossed the line – and chalked off the goal.
That meant that Fabio Capello’s Three Lions came into the second half knowing that they needed to attack. However, that only left holes at the back, and Joachim Low’s young German side ran riot, scoring another two goals to unceremoniously dump England out of the tournament.
The loss was the heaviest ever suffered by an England side in a World Cup and signalled the end for the much-hyped ‘Golden Generation’, while Germany progressed to the semi-finals, only to fall to eventual winners Spain.
