England used to be brilliant against Germany

01 October 2015 09:34

The Football Association instigated a four-game tour of Germany and Austria by a representative England team in November 1899. The England team played a representative German team in Berlin on 23 November and hammered them 13-2.

It was part of a whirlwind 4 game tour on the continent as football was growing at an alarming pace. The German were impeccable hosts, treating their guests to a fine dinner and displayed a huge desire to learn the game. The next morning they played again and England won 10-2.

Later that day the English nipped over to Prague and beat a German-Austrian team 6-0. After another 8-0 victory over a combined German-Austrian side in Karlsruhe, the English headed home and the Germans started practising.

We first lost to the Germans 1-0 in 1968 in a friendly in Hanover. We have played them 20 times since then, with the Germans winning the tie 13 times. Most notably the two semi-finals. Italy 1990 World Cup where they won 4-3 on pens after a 1-1 draw. At euro 96 at Wembley they won 6-5 on pens after another 1-1 draw. And the dodgy 4-1 defeat at South Africa 2010, where Lampard’s disallowed goal would’ve pulled it back to 2-2.

It’s down to the FA’s of each country. After we humiliated them 5-1 in Munich during the 2002 World cup qualifier, the German FA revamped the whole system, from the grassroots to the national team. What do we do after a rubbish World cup? Give the manager more time.

The Germans picked up the World cup trophy yet again in Brazil 2014, just 12 years after their revamp. What changes have we made? None really. As usual we’ll qualify with flying colours and fall at the first hurdle in the Finals.

Source: DSG