After a shocking relegation to League B, England have a shot at winning bragging rights over an old rival as they collide with Germany tonight at Wembley Stadium.
The clash provides England with the opportunity to capture their first win of the tournament after numerous disappointing results.
GiveMeSport presents the top 5 England vs Germany clashes of all time:
1. It finally came home: England 4-2 Germany- 1966 World Cup Final
Wembley Stadium saw England have the greatest footballing moment in the country’s history as they lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time in their history after a 4-2 win over rivals Germany.
Goals from Martin Peters and a hattrick from Geoff Hurst saw the World Cup trophy placed into the hands of captain Bobby Moore who lifted it, cementing this England side as footballing royalty for their achievement.
However, the way England won it has been deemed controversial as Hurst’s second goal is still talked about today and whether the ball fully crossed the line after hitting the crossbar. Hurst’s controversial goal was the catalyst for how the game turned out.
2. Round of 16 revenge: England 2-0 Germany- Euro 2020
Euro 2020 saw England have the opportunity to capture their second major international trophy in the saw environment in which they won their first, on home turf at Wembley Stadium.
A tap-in from Raheem Sterling in the second sent Wembley wild. However, celebrations were almost cut short as Thomas Muller went one-on-one with Jordan Pickford but shockingly put the ball wide.
Harry Kane doubled England’s lead which was the icing on the cake, and saw England record a historic win as fans became optimistic about this England side.
3. Penalty pressure causes heartbreak: Germany wins on penalties- 1996 Euro semi-finals
An optimistic campaign ended in sour defeat as the Germans handed England another painful defeat.
Terry Venables’ England side had fans out of their seats after the penalty over Spain in the quarter-finals, but the result of the semi-finals would only leave head in hand as now England manager Gareth Southgate missed a crucial penalty that led to Germany advancing to the final and winning the tournament.
4. The curse continues: Germany wins 4-3 on penalties – World Cup 1990 semi-finals
The semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup would be the biggest match in the country’s history since 1966.
Germany took the lead after Andreas Brehme converted a free kick. England captain Gary Lineker got an equaliser to take the game to extra time.
Penalty misses from Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle saw the tournament hurt continue, and England bore witness to Germany lifting another major trophy at their expense.
5. Controversy at Free State Stadium: Germany 4-1 England- World Cup 2010 round of 16
The Free State Stadium was home to another instalment of the England vs Germany rivalry, but this match witnessed one of the most controversial moments in the tournament’s history.
Germany took a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals coming from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski.
Matthew Upson would get a goal back but what quickly followed stole the headlines. Frank Lampard hit a long-distance strike that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced out of the goal, but it was clear from all the replays that the ball had crossed the line and the goal should have stood.
Germany went on to score two more goals as the game finished 4-1, and Germany advanced to the quarter-finals.
