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On Tuesday, England will take on Germany in the penultimate round of 16 clash of the UEFA Euro 2020. This match will be played at Wembley.
These two footballing heavyweights have crossed swords on multiple occasions at major events. Most of England’s wins against Germany have come at international friendlies, but the Germans have often been a stumbling block for the Three Lions when stakes are higher.
In particular, if there’s one defeat which is still fresh in memories of the England loyalists, it is that in the semi-final of UEFA Euro 1996. The match was played at this very venue, Wembley, and home fans saw their team losing the match in penalties.
The player, whose miss left the crowd of over 75,000 shells shocked, Gareth Southgate, will be looking to avenge that defeat when his side will face Joachim Low’s team. If we consider the campaigns both teams have had thus far, England’s form looks better.
They went on to beat a formidable Croatian outfit 1-0 in their first match. The second match against Scotland was arguably the only time when the Three Lions looked a bit shaky, as despite facing a team much lower than them in the FIFA World Rankings, England had to settle for a 0-0 stalemate.
In the final group stage clash against the Czech Republic, they secured another 1-0 win to finish at the top of the table in Group D. They were one of the only two teams who did not concede a single goal in the group stage.
Germany’s campaign so far has not been as smooth as England’s, but to be fair to them, they were placed in a much tougher group. Die Mannschaft started off with a game against France, and while they fought bravely against the defending World champions, it went in vain as Mats Hummels’ own goal gave France the three points.
While England were at their worst in their second match, Germany were at their very best in their second group stage clash against Portugal. Low’s men secured a 4-2 win. Luck was on their side this time around, as two of those goals were scored by Portuguese players.
They failed to carry that momentum into the last group stage match. Needing only a point against Hungary, they trailed the game on two occasions. However, one has to praise their character and commitment, as Low’s boys fought till the very end and restored parity twice, subsequently confirming their place at this stage of the competition.
Key Players
Harry Kane might not have his shooting boots on at this edition of Euros yet, but it will be foolish to write the Tottenham Hotspur man off at this stage of the competition. A man for the big stages, Kane has scored 34 goals in just 57 appearances for England. The winner of the Golden Boot at the last FIFA World Cup will be raring to get off the mark, and there will be no better time to do so but at this game.
Not many would have expected Raheem Sterling to start for England ahead of the commencement of this tournament, but Southgate had faith in the Manchester City winger, who has certainly justified his place in the team. Sterling has scored both of England’s goals in this competition and will be aiming to get his third.
Thomas Muller has not scored a goal in this competition yet, but in the match against Hungary, it was proved yet again why his presence is extremely vital. Despite carrying an injury, Muller added to Germany’s attacking threat after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Germany’s main goal-scoring weapon for this match will be a player who resides in England – Kai Havertz. The Chelsea player got his name on the scoresheet against Portugal and Hungary. He has scored three goals in his last seven appearances for Germany and will have to fire again if Germany want to advance further in this competition.
Prediction
The head-to-head statistics between England and Germany is as neck-and-neck as it could possibly be. The Germans have come out victoriously on 15 occasions, while the Englishmen have had the last laugh on 16 occasions.
However, England will take a slight advantage in this encounter, primarily due to two reasons. Firstly, the Wembley Stadium will be almost entirely filled with English supporters, as many Germans have not been able to make the trip to London, owing to travel restrictions.
The current form is also on England’s side. They are unbeaten in their last nine matches, while Germany have suffered three defeats in their last encounters. So, albeit by a very slim margin, England will start this game as the favourites.
