England vs Germany UEFA EURO LIVE Football Match Score 28 June 2021

There have been 55 since the country’s international zenith in 1966, when Geoff Hurst smashed in three, Nobby Stiles danced a jig and Bobby Moore sat atop shoulders with the World Cup trophy firmly in his grasp. Germany (then West) were there that day, watching as England celebrated. They have been present ever since, regularly making amends for their 4-2 loss, inflicting pain and fostering English resentment. Good effort Argentina, keep trying Portugal. As far as England’s big-tournament nemesis goes, there’s no competition. Four times England have met Germany in the knockout rounds of a major tournament since 1966. Four times they have lost, often edged out, occasionally unlucky, always anguished. Less a series of defeats, more a recipe for a national existential crisis.

Generations of England fans have their own mental play-list of major tournament trauma and grief, with Germany the chief antagonist. Generation Z have Frank Lampard’s shot landing a good foot behind the line at the 2010 World Cup, early Millennials and Gen X are cursed with the double whammy of two penalty shootout losses, of a crestfallen Chris Waddle in 1990, a gutted and grey Gareth Southgate in 1996 and a weird hybrid of two Gazzas, tears flowing as he stretches in vain to divert a ball home. The poor Baby Boomers have all of the above with an added dash of Uwe Seeler’s logic-defying backward header and Gerd Muller’s point-blank volley on a sun-scorched Mexican pitch in 1970. The propensity in some areas for drawing on crass references to the two World Wars and xenophobic cliches about beach towels and sun loungers have not helped.

The long-awaited return of supporters to Wembley Stadium seemed to work wonders for England’s rearguard, as Italy were the only other team to advance to the last-16 without shipping a goal, but for their plethora of talent up top, putting the ball in the back of the net has not exactly been England’s forte.

Raheem Sterling’s well-taken winner against Croatia preceded a crucial header versus the Czech Republic – two victories which came either side of a drab goalless stalemate with their Scottish counterparts – but seven points taken from a possible nine was enough to send England through as group winners.

It has now been over 450 minutes of football since Southgate’s side last conceded a goal and they head into their clash with Germany on a nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions, but all four of their most recent victories have come courtesy of a 1-0 scoreline – certainly cause for concern before inevitable fixtures with the continent’s finest.

Whether Southgate opts to keep faith in the 4-2-3-1 or take a punt on his previously favoured three-man defence, one thing is for certain – England simply have to dust off their best shooting boots to be in with a chance of a quarter-final versus either Sweden or Ukraine

Match facts

Head-to-head

• This is the third meeting between England and Germany at the European Championship. Germany won 6-5 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the 1996 semi-final, before England won 1-0 in the group stage at Euro 2000.
• This will be the 13th meeting between England and Germany at Wembley. England won four of the first five such games (L1), including the 1966 World Cup final, but are winless in their last seven (D2 L5).
• England and Germany have met seven times previously at major tournaments. Both sides have won two games each with three draws, though the Germans have progressed via a penalty shootout following two of those draws.

England

• This will be England’s 300th international match at Wembley and their 77th at the new site since it reopened in 2007. The Three Lions have won 187 times at this venue (D73 L39), and remain unbeaten in their 14 Euros or World Cup finals matches at the stadium (W9 D5).
• England have never won a European Championships knockout match in 90 minutes (D4 L2). Four games have gone to penalties, with England only progressing once via this method, against Spain at Wembley at Euro 96.
• England’s last four victories have all been 1-0, as many as their previous 26 wins had been. The only previous year they have had five 1-0 wins was in 1990, with two of those wins coming at the 1990 World Cup when they reached the semi-final.
• Raheem Sterling has scored 14 goals in his last 19 appearances for England, after scoring just twice in his first 45 caps. All 16 of Sterling’s goals for England have come in competitive games, with only Steve Bloomer scoring more with every goal coming in competitive games (28 goals, all in Home Nations matches).

Germany

• Germany have reached at least the semi-final in each of the last three European Championships. Since the tournament was expanded in 1996 they have reached at least the last four of the competition each time they have reached the knockout stage.
• Joachim Low’s side have conceded at least once in each of their last eight matches at major tournaments, since a 3-0 win against Slovakia at this stage of Euro 2016. Only once have had they had a longer run without a major tournament clean sheet, which was in their first nine World Cup matches between 1934 and 1954.
• Ilkay Gundogan has scored twice at Wembley, for Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 Champions League final and for Manchester City in the Premier League. He could become just the second player to score at the ground for a club side and the German national team, after Per Mertesacker.