England and Germany are meeting in the round of 16 in the Euro 2020 Championships at Wembley. Here is a complete list of their match-ups in single-elimination play:
07/30/1966: England 4, W. Germany 2 (World Cup Final)
06/14/1970: W. Germany 3, England 2 (World Cup Quarter-Final)
07/04/1990: W. Germany 1, England 1 (W. Germany wins on Penalty Kicks) (World Cup Semi-Final)
06/26/1996: Germany 1, England 1 (Germany wins on Penalty Kicks) (Euro Semi-Final)
06/27/2010: Germany 4, England 1 (World Cup Round of 16)
So no Englishman under the age of 59 has a clear memory of England eliminating Germany from a major soccer tournament. This fact weighs on England about is much as you would expect.
The last time we saw England was in 2018, when they were in the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1990. They were up 1-0 on Croatia and apparently cruising toward a meeting with France in the final. Instead they lost 2-1 in extra time, and France crushed Croatia a few days later.
In 1977, UNC used the Four Corners to eliminate UK in the Regional Finals of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Eighteen years later, UNC again knocked UK out in the Regional Finals. Those two games hurt me in ways I can never explain. England/Germany is like that, but over 50 years instead of 18.
ReplyDeleteThe English fans would probably rather beat Germany than any other country. The English press probably admires Germany more than any other country. In that regard, the England/Germany matchup is also a lot like UK and UNC in basketball.
ReplyDeleteEngland 1 - 0 Germany (75 minutes)
ReplyDeleteEngland has scored! They show Prince William and Kate in the stands. He looks very excited. She looks about as excited as you would expect.
After Germany had controlled the play for most of the game, England counterattacked and Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) scored after a very nice cross from Luke Shaw (Manchester Utd).
ReplyDeleteGermany immediately comes down and wins a free kick just outside the penalty area.
ReplyDeleteBut England clear! Huge cheer from the fans at Wembley, most of whom probably assumed that Germany would score off of the free kick.
ReplyDeleteIt should be noted that in club soccer, where the English can take advantage of capitalism, they have done much better. English clubs have won the European Championship on 14 different occasions, compared to 8 for Germany.
ReplyDeleteGermany had a breakaway in the 80th minutes, but Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) missed a relatively easy chance. England still lead 1-0.
ReplyDeleteEngland 2 - 0 Germany (85th minute)
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff from England there -- they seize the ball at the midfield and launch an immediate counter-attack. A great cross from Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) is headed in by Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur). And now the crowd at Wembley are really starting to cheer. No one my age has ever seen England in such a strong position against Germany.
In an elimination match.
DeleteEngland's manager, Gareth Southgate, famously missed the penalty that cost England in the 1996 semi-final. That story is getting a lot of attention.
ReplyDeleteIn the 89th minute, even the Guardian reports that "{t}he jig looks well and truly up for Germany." But of course, the Guardian could just be trying to jinx England.
ReplyDelete90 minutes: England 2 - 0 Germany
ReplyDelete4 minutes of injury time
England has never won the European Championship, and they haven't won the World Cup since 1966. In fact, 1966 was the last time that any major international soccer tournament was won by an English-speaking country.
ReplyDeleteAnd England have done it! They beat Germany 2-0 for their first major victory over Germany since 1966. I was permanently cheered up by UK's win over UNC in 2011, and we'll hope the people of England have the same experience.
ReplyDeleteWell, heck.
DeleteHere's what the quarter-finals look like:
ReplyDeleteBelgium v. Italy
Switzerland v. Spain
Sweden or Ukraine v. England
Czech Republic v. Denmark