Football: Anderton hopes to settle score against Germany in Masters match

England's Darren Anderton (right) and Germany's Karl-Heinz Riedle at the press conference for The Battle Of Europe 2016 at the Marriott Hotel on Sept 9, 2016. ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI

SINGAPORE - Darren Anderton and England will hope to settle the score against rivals Germany when the England Masters face the Germany Masters at the Battle Of Europe 2016 on Nov 12 at the National Stadium.

The match will provide just the platform for the two teams to battle it out in the lastest edition of one of the strongest rivalries in football.

Anderton was part of the 1996 Euro team who went into the tournament as favourites and left with heartbreak on home soil as they fell to the Germans in a penalty shoot-out.

Speaking to the media at the Singapore Marriot, Anderton and 1990 World Cup winner for Germany, Karl-Heinz Riedle, shared their enthusiasm for the showdown.

Said Anderton: "The rivalry is a massive one. We're reminded of it back home since we won the World Cup 50 years ago and we've all tried to put that right throughout our careers.

"For myself it was Euro 1996 the closest we came to it. Great, great tournament but unfortunately spoiled by the Germans," he said, with a laugh.

While Anderton's memories of the England-Germany rivalry bring up a bitter taste, they are sweet memories for Riedle.

The former Dortmund forward said: "I was always successful against the English teams. In '91 it was my first game after the World Cup and I scored and we won 1-0 (in a friendly), so I always have really good memories from the English games, hopefully this can continue on the 12th of November."

When asked to pit their current national teams against those they played for in the past, Anderton admitted that the class of '96 were of a different calibre.

"Not being able to get them to gel has been the problem, I think. At the moment you're looking for someone to replace (Wayne) Rooney as captain and there aren't any candidates. Back in Euro 1996 we had a team full of captains and leaders and that's what made that a great team," said the 44-year-old.

Riedle's response to the same query could not have been a more perfect opposite.

The 50-year-old said: "To be honest, I think the team now is the better team. They are the better footballers. We had really good individual players in 1990, but the whole set-up for Germany was (to produce) young players like Mario Gotze or Ozil. They are fantastic players so if you compare it (they) are the better team now."

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