Football rivalry between England and Germany
Football rivalry between England and Germany is the product of both events inside and outside the football pitch in the 20th century. It has manifested itself several times in violent occurrences off the pitch on the part of the English fans.
The perception of the England-Germany rivalry is not mutual in terms of intensity as it is with England’s other large rivalries, namely with Argentina and with Scotland, accounting for the unilaterally-displayed violence on part of the English fans. In Germany, the national team’s rivalry with the Netherlands is generally more emotional and intense and matches. English fans and the English media often make derogatory allusions to World War 2 when the two teams play.
Constantly, in both cheers and in the media building up and following the sporting event, there are allusions to the two world wars which witnessed these two countries pitted against each other.
Early encounters between the two sides did not contain the rivalry that was to later develop; the English team’s skill level dominated the entire continent and Germany was unable to sport a game to create an intense sporting competition. The two sides first played in 1899 during an English four-match tour of the central continent. The German team lost both of the first two games harshly, 13-2 and 10-2. Similar results came of the next two, wherein England played against a combined Austrian and German team, yielding wins of 8-0 and 7-0 against the continental team. In 1901, the two sides met again in England for two friendlies where Germany suffered similar losses.
During World War 1, wherein the two countries were engaged in war against each other, the unofficial ceasefire on Christmas day in 1914 witnessed thousands of men across several miles climbing out of their trenches into no-man’s land to play the other side in football.
In the inter-war years, the two football events between the two countries gained a political undertone. In 1935, the German national team crossed the English Channel with a crowd of up to 8,000 supporters organized into special trains and the event was taken very seriously in the country. In 1938, the English national team was ordered by the British Foreign Office to perform the n**i salute during a match in Berlin, not without large controversy. The actual games were very cordial and England won them both. However, the n**i government used the matches as propaganda to accentuate that Germany was not a pariah state on the continent via-a-vis their friendly sporting interaction with the UK.
The rivalry only truly began developing its bitter edge during the 1966 World Cup wherein the two teams faced each other in the final, with West Germany (which inherited the German national football team post-1949) powerful enough to offer an intense competition. The World Cup was hosted by England and the match between the two was played in Wembley Stadium. England led the game with 2-1 until Germany equalized at the very end. In extra time, English striker Geoff Hurst shot on goal; the ball hit the crossbar and was deflected towards the ground from where it bounced out of the goal. After much confusion and consultation with the linesman, the referee awarded the goal to England. However, Germany did not believe the ball had crossed the goal line, making this a very controversial goal that has lived on bitterly in the memory of German national football. England scored again right before the end of extra time, after the celebrating English fans poured into the field.
In 1968, Germany won its first ever match against England in a friendly, marking the beginning of German football strength. In the quarter finals of the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, the two teams meet once again. England was leading 2-0 when Beckenbauer and Seeler equalized, dragging the game into extra time. Germany scored another goal and eliminated England from the tournament. English morale was severely bruised from the loss, having lost to a continental team after decades of English dominance in the sport culminated in their victory in the World Cup before. Two years later, England lost 3-1 at home and tied 0-0 away against Germany in the Euro Cup.
The teams meet once again in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. This was the furthest England had trailed up the world cup ladder since 1966 and was hence a very emotionally burdened game for the country. Germany led the entire game until an equalizing goal was scored by Lineker ten minutes before the end. The game went on to a penalty shoot-out wherein Germany won 4-3. Germany went on to win the championship. The close loss was very frustrating for England, which witnessed itself pulling out of a two-decade slump in football achievement after losing its previous undisputed dominance in the sport. These resentments were pinned on the Germans, a strong rival at whose hands they had lost and a competitor that always presents a challenge to check their success. A similar victory was won by Germany in the 1996 Euro Cup on sudden death penalty kicks, preceded by racist allusions to World War 2 in English media and followed by a riot in Trafalgar Square.
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