This Tuesday one of international football’s greatest rivalries will be renewed as England battle Germany at Euro 2020.
The encounter will take place at Wembley in the Round of 16 with both sides knowing just how huge a win over their foe could be for their tournament ambitions.
It’s a fixture absolutely stepped in history and the prospect of the two meeting again in the knockout stage of a major tournament is a tantalising thought.
Over the years we’ve seen some unbelievably memorable meetings between these juggernauts and today, we want to run through five of the most recent.
England 0-0 Germany – November 2017
In a game that’s mostly remembered for featuring England’s most inexperienced side since 1980, the Three Lions actually put up a decent fight against the then-reigning world champions.
Jordan Pickford’s tenure as England number one was still fresh and he put in a stellar showing. Germany pushed forward with real confidence and the hosts were able to largely frustrate their counterparts at Wembley in one of the more entertaining 0-0s you’re likely to see.
Germany 1-0 England – March 2017
Eight months prior, however, England couldn’t quite compete with the very best in what proved to be the first loss of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as manager.
Adam Lallana and Dele Alli both went close with the post even being rattled but ultimately, this was about one man and one man only – Lukas Podolski. In his final performance for the national team he scored a brilliant 69th minute winner in Dortmund.
Germany 2-3 England – March 2016
There was genuine optimism within the England camp leading into Euro 2016 and results like this proved why.
Roy Hodgson was starting to bring through a fresh crop of talented stars and despite going 2-0 down through goals from Kroos and Gomez, the Three Lions didn’t cave. Kane and Vardy pulled them back from the depths before Eric Dier of all people popped up with a dramatic 91st minute goal to win the game.
England 0-1 Germany – November 2013
This can definitely be listed as “one to forget” as Germany edged past England courtesy of a Per Mertesacker header in the first half.
It marked the first time in over 35 years that the national team had lost consecutive matches at Wembley and, in many ways, it was an early warning shot before the suffering that came the following summer at the 2014 World Cup.
Germany 4-1 England – June 2010
In the latest clash between these rivals at a major tournament, Germany stunned Fabio Capello and his side with a ruthless 4-1 win at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Klose and Podolski seemingly put the Germans on their way to the quarter-finals but after Matt Upson’s header brought the score back to 2-1, everything changed. Frank Lampard smashed what he thought was a tremendous strike in off the bar, only for the referee to rule out what came to be known as the “ghost goal”.
England couldn’t recover with Germany going on to seal the win through a Thomas Muller brace.
Will revenge be a dish best served cold for Southgate? We’ll find out on Tuesday.
Featured image credit: Getty