German-English football rivalry

The German-English football rivalry developed primarily on the political level and through their bitter opposition in both world wars and is repeatedly associated with the events of the war in various English media, for example when The Sun asked in the run-up to a game to " for the German war machine ”. The English historian James Taylor also sees the origin of the rivalry as being in World War II : “This rivalry goes back to the Second World War, which never ended for the British. You continue him to soccer. Not so much the players, but the fans. ”At the same time, according to Taylor, there is a greater dislike of the English than the other way around. He sees the reason for this because Germany won a large number of titles, while England only won the 1966 World Cup, which was held in their own country . In short, England feels they are inferior in terms of sport in this rivalry and no one could have said it better than former English striker Gary Lineker with his unforgettable saying: “Football is an easy game. 22 men chase the ball for 90 minutes and in the end Germany always wins. "

On a sporting level, the controversial Wembley goal , which brought the preliminary decision in the final of the 1966 World Cup , will not be forgotten.

International game history

The initial dominance of the English

The first official international match between Germany and England took place on May 10, 1930 in Berlin's German Stadium and ended 3: 3.

The first meeting in England was played on December 4, 1935 at London's White Hart Lane and ended with a 3-0 win for the hosts. At the next meeting on May 14, 1938 in the Berlin Olympic Stadium , which had opened just under two years earlier , the English retained the upper hand (this time with 6: 3). It was not only the last comparison of the two rivals before the imminent outbreak of the Second World War , but also the last comparison of the English with an all-German selection before reunification in 1990 for more than half a century .

The first post-war comparison of the Englishman with the footballing stronger national team of Germany took place on 1 December 1954 at the venerable London's Wembley Stadium and was organized by the hosts against the reigning world champions 3: 1. With the same result, the Three Lions also prevailed in their fifth overall comparison with the Germans, which was held again on May 26, 1956 in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. The two following duels (on May 12, 1965 in the Municipal Stadium in Nuremberg and on February 23, 1966 in London's Wembley Stadium) ended with a success for the English (1-0 each). Thus, the Three Lions won six of a total of seven encounters, while the German team had not achieved a single victory before the 1966 World Cup in England.

With three goals, Geoff Hurst was the "match winner" of the 1966 World Cup finals and the scorer of the "Wembley goal".

The unforgettable "Wembley Gate"

When the two teams faced each other in the World Cup final, the English - especially the hosts - had to be viewed as favorites. Although the German team took the lead thanks to an early goal by Helmut Haller (12th), the later “match winner” Geoff Hurst equalized just six minutes later. After Martin Peters scored the opening goal for the home side in the 78th minute, they almost looked like the upcoming world champion. But in stoppage time the German defender Wolfgang Weber managed to equalize with his first international goal, so that an extension was necessary. The preliminary decision was made in the 101st minute by the legendary Wembley goal. Hurst shot the ball to the lower edge of the crossbar, which bounced straight down from there before Weber headed it into goal. After consulting the Soviet linesman Tofiq Bəhramov , the Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst decided to score. In the last minute of extra time, Hurst increased it to 4: 2. Although there were already spectators on the field, recognition was not denied to this actually irregular hit, so England won the game 4-2 after extra time and thus became football world champions for the first and so far only time. Immediately after the game , Franz Beckenbauer made it clear that the English victory was deserved despite the irregular goals : "The English were the better team and therefore deserved to win."

The Germans gain supremacy

Beckenbauer (center) and Gerd Müller (left) scored decisive goals in their first successes against England.

In a June 1, 1968 at the Niedersachsen Stadium of Hannover discharged match the German team for the first time achieved a victory against England (1: 0 by the "golden goal" by Franz Beckenbauer 82 minutes) and two years later, in the quarterfinals of soccer -World Cup 1970 in Mexico, the first competitive game victory for the Germans. After that it was in the Estadio Guanajuato from León however long not looked because the Three Lions with goals from Alan Mullery and Martin Peters (he had already been in the finals of 1966 hit) up to 68 minutes with 2: 0 were in the lead. A hard shot from Franz Beckenbauer brought the German team back into play and in the 82nd minute Uwe Seeler equalized with the back of his head. Again it went into overtime, in which this time the Germans had the better end. In the 108th minute, a half-high volley from Gerd Müller decided the game and led Germany to the semi-finals of the match of the century against Italy .

After both teams had become undefeated winners of their respective groups, they met again in the quarter-finals of the qualifying round for the European Football Championship . The German team duped England with their first ever win at Wembley and the home side's first defeat there in seven years. The so-called Wembley-Elf convinced in their 3-1 success in particular by the fact that they started weakly and the substitutes took their chance. Uli Hoeneß took the lead in the break with his goal in the 26th minute. In the second half the game developed into a defensive battle. The English runner-up for Sepp Maier's goal was rewarded in the 77th minute with an equalizer by Francis Lee . After Sigfried Held was fouled, Günter Netzer converted the penalty in the 85th minute. Three minutes later, as in Mexico two years earlier, Gerd Müller made the final score. In the second leg, the English competed with no hope of advancement and parted goalless in the Berlin Olympic Stadium from the Germans, who then won the European Football Championship in 1972 .

Then it would take until 1982 before the two teams faced each other again in an official competitive game. This took place in the first game of the intermediate round at the Soccer World Cup in 1982 and ended goalless. Because Germany prevailed 2-1 in the next game against hosts Spain , but England also only managed to score 0-0 in the last game of the group of three against Spain, Germany again prevailed against the English and later became vice world champions (defeat in the final against Italy).

Two dramatic semi-finals

At the 1990 World Cup in Italy , the old rivals met in the semi-finals. Gary Lineker was able to equalize the Germans' opening goal by Andi Brehme (60th) ten minutes before the end of the game. So it went into overtime, in which the English missed the lead simply because Chris Waddle only hit the post. In the subsequent penalty shootout, he took the decisive fifth penalty kick over the goal guarded by Bodo Illgner , so that Germany qualified for the final and celebrated their third World Cup title with a 1-0 win against Argentina .

Six years later there was an almost exact repetition of the events in the semi -finals of the 1996 European Football Championship . Alan Shearer , who had given the hosts in the venerable Wembley Stadium (30 years earlier the scene of the controversial "Wembley goal") in the lead in the third minute ( Stefan Kuntz equalized in the 16th minute), would have could be big match winners if his shot in overtime had landed in the goal instead of just on the post. Again a penalty shoot-out had to determine the finalist. This time all five English shooters (including Shearer) scored, but to the disappointment of the Three Lions , all five German players were also successful. The sixth shot from Gareth Southgate could Andy Köpke parry and because Andy Möller then met England failed again in trying to reach a final. Once again Germany qualified for a final. And also won it: this time with a golden goal by Oliver Bierhoff in the 95th minute against the Czech Republic in England's holy football site, the legendary Wembley Stadium.

Michael Owen scored three goals in the historic 5-1 victory for the English in Munich.

Recent English successes and Wembley bankruptcies

In the preliminary group of the European Football Championship 2000 both teams met again. This time England won 1-0 with a goal from captain Alan Shearer. It was the first English competitive game victory in 34 years. But because both teams disappointed in the other group matches against Portugal and Romania , they were eliminated together after the preliminary round.

Only a few months later they met again because they had been drawn into the same group for the first time as part of a World Cup qualification . The "first leg" took place on October 7, 2000 and was also the last international game of the Three Lions in the old Wembley Stadium. The farewell to their traditional place of worship was spoiled by a 0-1 defeat for the English. The shooter for the German winner was Dietmar Hamann . In addition, the English national coach and former HSV star Kevin Keegan was relieved of his post after this defeat.

But in the “second leg” on September 1, 2001, the English managed the “perfect” revenge in the Munich Olympic Stadium . Although Carsten Jancker had already shot the home team in the lead in the sixth minute of the game, the English celebrated their highest international win against Germany that day 5-1. "Matchwinner" was Michael Owen , who contributed three goals to this triumph. Based on the direct comparison, the Three Lions won the group ahead of the German team with the same number of points. In the subsequent soccer World Cup in 2002 , the two rivals each failed at the eventual world champions Brazil (England in the quarter-finals, Germany in the final).

The next argument broke out six years later. Although this was a private game, it was significant in that it was their first appearance at the new Wembley Stadium for the German team . As in her last guest appearance at the old Wembley Stadium, she caused a bad mood at the hosts and won 2-1 with goals from Kevin Kuranyi and Christian Pander when Frank Lampard conceded .

The "inverted" Wembley goal

The new Wembley Stadium

The last competitive match between the two teams so far took place in the round of 16 of the 2010 World Cup . After the German team had the game largely under control and (after goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski ) were 2-0 up, it looked as if Germany could "easily" qualify for the quarter-finals. The surprising connection goal by central defender Matthew Upson (37th) caused tension again. Only a few minutes later, a goal from Frank Lampard was denied recognition. He hit the lower edge of the crossbar of the German goal from 17 meters. From there the ball jumped well behind the goal line and then back against the crossbar, whereupon goalkeeper Manuel Neuer caught the ball and hit it off. The referee Jorge Larrionda did not recognize the goal, however, as his linesman Mauricio Espinosa signaled him to "continue playing". With goals from Thomas Müller in the 67th and 70th minutes, Germany not only qualified for the next round (in which Argentina was dealt 4-0), but also celebrated their highest international win against England. At the same time, it was England's biggest defeat at a World Cup .

On November 19, 2013, a match between the English and German national teams took place as part of a test match, which was again played in the new Wembley Stadium. Germany won again; this time 1-0 thanks to a hit by Per Mertesacker . The tragic from the English point of view is that it is the sixth triumph in a row for the German national team in the (old and new) Wembley Stadium. The last victory of the Three Lions in England's place of worship dates back to March 12, 1975. Colin Bell and Malcolm MacDonald scored the goals for the home side's 2-0 win .

Conversely, the German team achieved their last home win until March 2017 with a 3-1 win on September 9, 1987 in the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf. After that there were only defeats: the biggest defeat (1: 5 in the Munich Olympic Stadium on September 1, 2001) was followed by two defeats in the Berlin Olympic Stadium (1: 2 on November 19, 2008 and 2: 3 on March 26, 2016, when in the last comparison of the two teams within the last half hour a 2-0 lead was lost). On 22 March 2017, the German national team won for the first time since 1987 again a home game against the English selection when they play a friendly game in Dortmund's Westfalenstadion through a gate of the former striker of FC Arsenal , Lukas Podolski , whose last international game with 1: 0 won. The last international match for the time being was dated November 2017, when the two teams parted ways with a goalless draw at the new Wembley Stadium.

The lived rivalry

The rivalry with Germany arouses more emotions among the English fans than the mutual animosities with Argentina , Scotland or Ireland that are also present . In the case of Argentina, the main reason for this is the distance. In addition, the main reason for this rivalry (the Falklands War ) is less of a problem for the victorious English, but rather for the defeated Argentines (who the English hate for this). The rivalries with Scotland and Ireland are also lived out much more by the opposing side than by the English, who dominate both states in both sporting and political terms.

In the rivalry with Germany, however, reference is made again and again to the two world wars; For example, the German soldiers denigrated as Huns or sarcastically wished Germany “luck” for a victory on the pitch (as here before the 1966 World Cup final): “May Germany defeat us today in our national sport too. We defeated her twice in hers. "

And when the new, black jerseys of the German team were presented in January 2010, the Daily Star compared them with the fascist black shirts and warned of a revival of the Nazi cult .

England's biggest win against Germany, the 5-1 win against Munich on September 1, 2001, received particularly sarcastic applause from some media. So the Sunday Mirror let itself be carried away with the headline "Blitzed"; an allusion to the bombing raids on Germany in the 1940s.

But it was precisely with this devastating defeat of German football that it became clear that this rivalry is lived more on the English side than by the Germans, for whom the Dutch-German rivalry is far more important.

Although Germany missed the direct qualification for the World Cup due to the biggest defeat against an English team (the 5: 1 from Munich in the context of qualifying for the World Cup finals in 2002 ) and therefore had to play for relegation against Ukraine as runners-up behind the English team, the German fans sang loudly about the simultaneous defeat of the Dutch against the Irish (0: 1): "Without Holland we're going to the World Cup."

All games at a glance

Games of the German national team against England

No.	date	Result	opponent		venue	occasion	Remarks
01	May 10, 1930	3: 3	England	H	Berlin , German Stadium		first official international match against England's senior national team
02	0Dec. 4, 1935	0: 3	England	A.	London ( ENG ), White Hart Lane
03	May 14, 1938	3: 6	England	H	Berlin , Olympic Stadium		first international game in which with Wilhelm Hahnemann and Hans Pesser involved two players who previously for Austria played
04th	0Dec. 1, 1954	1: 3	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium
05	May 26, 1956	1: 3	England	H	Berlin , Olympic Stadium
06th	May 12, 1965	0: 1	England	H	Nuremberg , municipal stadium
07th	Feb 23, 1966	0: 1	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium
08th	July 30, 1966	2: 4 a.d.	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium	World Cup 1966 final	" Wembley Goal " first World Cup game against England
09	0June 1, 1968	1-0	England	H	Hanover , Lower Saxony Stadium		First win against England
10	June 14, 1970	3: 2 a.d.	England	N	León ( MEX ), Estadio Guanajuato	World Cup 1970 quarter-finals	Until July 1, 2014, the only World Cup game that Germany was able to win without penalty shoot-out in extra time.
11	Apr 29, 1972	3: 1	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium	European Championship 1972 quarter-finals	200th victory, first victory in England
12	May 13, 1972	0-0	England	H	Berlin , Olympic Stadium	European Championship 1972 quarter-finals
13	March 12 1975	0: 2	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium		400th international match of the German team
14th	Feb 22, 1978	2: 1	England	H	Munich , Olympic Stadium
15th	June 29, 1982	0-0	England	N	Madrid ( ESP ), Estadio Santiago Bernabéu	World Cup 1982 final round
16	Oct 13, 1982	2: 1	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium
17th	June 12, 1985	0: 3	England	N	Mexico City ( MEX ), Aztec Stadium
18th	0Sep 9 1987	3: 1	England	H	Düsseldorf , Rheinstadion		300th victory of the German team
19th	04th July 1990	1: 1 n.V., 4: 3 i. E.	England	N	Turin ( ITA ), Stadio delle Alpi	World Cup 1990 semi-finals
20th	Sep 11 1991	1-0	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium
21st	June 19, 1993	2: 1	England	N	Pontiac ( USA ), Silverdome	US Cup 1993	Germany wins the US Cup in 1993, its first international match in a closed arena
22nd	June 26, 1996	1: 1 n.V., 6: 5 i. E.	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium	EM 1996 semi-finals
23	June 17, 2000	0: 1	England	N	Charleroi ( BEL ), Stade du Pays de Charleroi	EM 2000 preliminary round
24	0Oct 7, 2000	1-0	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium	World Cup 2002 qualification	last international match in the "old" Wembley Stadium
25th	0Sep 1 2001	1: 5	England	H	Munich , Olympic Stadium	World Cup 2002 qualification
26th	22 Aug 2007	2: 1	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium
27	Nov 19, 2008	1: 2	England	H	Berlin , Olympic Stadium
28	June 27, 2010	4: 1	England	N	Bloemfontein ( RSA ), Free State Stadium	World Cup 2010 round of 16	highest win against England "reverse Wembley goal " highest World Cup defeat in England
29	Nov 19, 2013	1-0	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium		Game on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the English Football Association 300th game of the DFB selection without conceding a goal
30th	26th Mar 2016	2: 3	England	H	Berlin , Olympic Stadium
31	22 Mar 2017	1-0	England	H	Dortmund , Westfalenstadion		Farewell international match for Lukas Podolski, first home win against England in 30 years
32	Nov 10, 2017	0-0	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium		50th goalless game of the DFB national team

Games of the GDR selection against England

The games between the GDR and England could never reach the status that the duel between the all-German or West German selection and the Three Lions had.

No.	date	Result	opponent		venue	occasion	Remarks
1	06/02/1963	1: 2	England	H	Leipzig , central stadium		first international match against England
2	11/29/1970	1: 3	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium
3	05/29/1974	1: 1	England	H	Leipzig , central stadium
4th	09/12/1984	0: 1	England	A.	London ( ENG ), Wembley Stadium

Legend

This section serves as a legend for the preceding tables.

• A = away game
• H = home game
• N = play in a neutral place
• WM = World Championship
• EM = European Championship
• n / a = after extension
• i. E. = on penalties
• green background color = victory of the German team
• yellow background color = tie
• red background color = defeat of the German team

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The World : Mother of All Rivalries - England vs. Germany (Article of June 26, 2010)
2. ↑ ^{a b} International Football Rivalries: Germany vs. England (a documentary by Euro Sport )
3. ↑ RP Online : "And in the end Germany always wins" (article from November 30, 2010)
4. ↑ Die Zeit : Germany wins again at Wembley Stadium (article from November 19, 2013)
5. ↑ Daily Star : Job Done Now For the Hun (June 24, 2010 article)
6. ↑ Geoffrey Wheatcroft ( The New Republic ): Look Who's Afraid of the Three Lions ( Memento of the original from June 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English; article from June 26, 2010) 
7. ↑ Tom Savage (Daily Star): Germany Bring Back the Black Shirts (English; article from January 28, 2010)
8. ^ England v Germany: A nation celebrates - BLITZED; England 5 Germany 1. (English; article from October 8, 2001)
9. ↑ The Guardian : The world's greatest international football rivalries - ranked and reviewed (English; article from November 17, 2014)
10. ↑ Graham Ruthven: You call this a rivalry (article from November 19, 2013)