Euro 2020
England not fazed by dire record
Southgate dismisses past losses to Germany, saying it has no bearing on current crop
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LONDON • While all the reminders of past encounters, penalty shoot-outs and "curses" ahead of England's Euro 2020 last-16 meeting with Germany resonate with many, for those who will play at Wembley today, it is ancient - and largely irrelevant - history.
The Three Lions have lost to Die Mannschaft in their last three knockout meetings at major tournaments - the 1990 World Cup, Euro 1996 and the 2010 World Cup - but those losses hold less meaning for Gareth Southgate's youthful squad.
"I don't really think about the past, whatever has happened has happened - the only thing we can do is be in the present," said forward Raheem Sterling, who has scored both of his team's goals in the tournament so far.
"I don't really get caught up in the rivalry at all. At the end of the day, we're going to play football and the objective is to win and for me, it's to score and enjoy it."
There is a fear among some England followers that the excitement around Southgate's crop of talented young players may end in similar disappointment.
Certainly, they have yet to sparkle here, with functional wins over the Czech Republic and Croatia, but for all the hype around this encounter, this has not looked like a vintage German team either.
Joachim Low's men were unimpressive in their opening loss to France and were six minutes from defeat against Hungary and an early exit.
Southgate knows his side will not be weighed down by the past and his primary concern will be to settle on a starting line-up - Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka are pushing for a start, while Phil Foden and Mason Mount are hoping for a recall - as the manager seeks to exploit the Germans' relatively slow backline.
"I don't need to demystify it. The history is an irrelevance for them. We've got boys born into the 2000s. It's of no consequence to them," he said.
Low, on the other hand, will be expected to rely on his experienced core of Ilkay Gundogan, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller, although there are calls for Leon Goretzka, who grabbed the crucial equaliser against Hungary, to start.
Germany's preparations were hit by Uefa's decision to disallow their last training session to be held at Wembley so as to preserve the pitch. They will also have to contend with a bigger partisan crowd of 45,000 versus 2,000 away fans, comprising those living in Britain due to travel restrictions between both countries.
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England have yet to concede a goal, keeping clean sheets in a European Championship group stage for the first time, repeating the feat of the 1966 World Cup, which they went on to win.
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Thomas Muller, who has 10 World Cup Finals goals, is still without one in 14 European Championship matches.
But Low has not lost to England in three previous meetings at Wembley and, with the hosts yet to win a knockout match at a European Championship in 90 minutes, the visitors are confident of preserving their record on "home court".
Goretzka said: "We don't have and need doubts. We are full of confidence."
REUTERS, XINHUA
