View source for England–Germany football rivalry

{{Short description|National team association football rivalry}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{original research|date=July 2014}}
{{update|date=August 2022}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

{{Infobox sports rivalry
 | name                     = England–Germany football rivalry
 | other names                     = <!-- Other names or references to Derby -->
 | image                     = Ghost Goal World Cup 1966.jpg
 | caption                     = [[Geoff Hurst]]'s "[[Ghost goal|Wembley goal]]" in the [[1966 FIFA World Cup final]] which resulted in England winning the [[FIFA World Cup Trophy|World Cup trophy]]
 | city or region                     = [[Europe]] ([[UEFA]])
 | first contested                     = 20 May 1930<br> [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]]<br>England 3–3 Germany
 | teams involved                     = {{fb|England}}<br>{{fb|Germany}}
 | most wins                     = England {{small|(14)}}
 | most player appearances                     = <!-- The player(s) with most derby appearances -->
 | mostrecent                     = 26 September 2022<br>[[2022–23 UEFA Nations League|UEFA Nations League]]<br>England 3–3 Germany
 | nextmeeting                     = 
 | total                     = 35
 | largestvictory                     = Germany 1–5 '''England'''<br>{{small|(1 September 2001)}}
 | largestscoring                     = '''England''' 6–3 Germany<br>{{small|(14 May 1938)}}
 | broadcasters                     = 
 | stadiums                     = 
 | map_location             = Europe
 | map_label1               = England
 | map_label1_position      = left
 | map_label2               = Germany
 | map_label2_position      = right
 | coordinates1             = {{coord|52|N|1|W|display=inline}}
 | coordinates2             = {{coord|51|N|9|E|display=inline}}
 | image_size                     = 250px
}}

The [[England national football team|English]] and [[Germany national football team|German]] national [[Association football|football]] teams have played each other since the end of the 19th century; officially since 1930. The teams met for the first time in November 1899, when England beat Germany in four straight matches. Notable matches between England and Germany (or West Germany) include the [[1966 FIFA World Cup final]], the semifinals of the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]], the semifinals of [[UEFA Euro 1996]], the round of sixteen of the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]] and [[UEFA Euro 2020]]. While the English public, football fans and in particular newspapers consider an '''England–Germany football rivalry''' to have developed, it is mostly an English phenomenon since most German fans consider the [[Germany–Netherlands football rivalry|Netherlands]] or [[Germany–Italy football rivalry|Italy]] to be their traditional footballing rivals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hesse |first=Uli |date=2016-03-27 |title=Hesse: Germany's true international rivals |url=https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/37444043/how-italy-became-germany-true-international-rivals |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitebloom|first=Grey |date=2020-02-09 |title=Netherlands vs Germany: A Rivalry Contested by Some of the World's Greatest Players |url=https://www.90min.com/posts/6591553-netherlands-vs-germany-a-rivalry-contested-by-some-of-the-world-s-greatest-players |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=90min.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

''In this article, references to the German football team include the former West Germany football team before [[German reunification]].''

==History==

===Early encounters===
{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|image1=Flag of England.svg|image2=Flag of Germany.svg|width1=200|width2=200|footer=England and Germany have played 34 official matches against each other since 1930.}}

[[The Football Association]] (FA) 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 1899, with the German side losing 1–0. Two days later a slightly altered German side lost 10–2. The third and fourth matches were played in [[Prague]] and [[Karlsruhe]] against a combined Austrian and German side, and England won 6–0 and 7–0. Those games cannot be considered as "official" and are known as "proto-international matches" (''[[:de:Ur-Länderspiele|Ur-Länderspiele]]'') in Germany because they were organised by a regional federation from Berlin and the [[German Football Association]] (DFB) was not founded until 28 January 1900. On the other hand, the DFB considers four matches played between 1908 and 1913 against the [[England national amateur football team]] of the FA as official matches against England, while the FA does not.

The first ever full international between the two teams was a [[friendly match]] played on Saturday 10 May 1930, in Berlin. England were 1–0 and 2–1 up in the game, but after losing a player to injury went behind 3–2, before a late goal from [[David Jack (footballer)|David Jack]] brought the score to 3–3, which was how the game finished.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,4243814-108081,00.html|title=Enthusiasm in Berlin|date=11 May 1930|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London|newspaper=[[The Observer]]}}</ref>

The next match between the two teams was played on 4 December 1935, at [[White Hart Lane]] in London, the first full international to take place between the teams in England and the first since the rise to power of [[Adolf Hitler]] and the [[Nazism|Nazis]] in 1933. It was also the first match to stir up particular controversy, as ''[[The Observer]]'' newspaper reported protests by the British [[Trades Union Congress]] that the game could be used as a propaganda event by the Nazi regime. "No recent sporting event has been treated with such high seriousness in Germany as this match ... Between 7,500 and 8,000 Germans will travel via Dover, and special trains will bring them to London. A description broadcast throughout Germany ... [[Walter Citrine, 1st Baron Citrine|Sir Walter Citrine]], General Secretary of the TUC, in a further letter to [[John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon|Sir John Simon]], the [[Home Secretary]], said that 'such a large and carefully organised Nazi contingent coming to London might confirm the impression among people in this country that the event is being regarded as of some political importance by the visitors'."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/englandfootball/story/0,9565,540901,00.html|title=Visit of German footballers|date=1 December 1935|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London|newspaper=[[The Observer]]}}</ref>

Of the match itself, however, which England won 3–0, the same newspaper reported the following week that: "So chivalrous in heart and so fair in tackling were the English and German teams who played at Tottenham in mid-week that even the oldest of veterans failed to recall an international engagement played with such good manners by everybody."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/englandfootball/story/0,9565,540784,00.html|first=J. A. H.|last=Catton|title=Why Germany failed|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|date=8 December 1935|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London}}</ref>

The next game between the two teams, and the last to be played before the [[Second World War]], was again in [[Nazi Germany|Germany]], a friendly at the [[Olympiastadion (Berlin)|Olympic Stadium]] in Berlin on 14 May 1938, played in front of a crowd of 110,000 people. It was the last time England played against a unified German team until the 1990s. This was the most controversial of all the early encounters between the two teams, as before kick-off the English players were ordered by the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office|Foreign Office]] to line up and perform a [[Nazi salute]] in respect to their hosts. How compliant the players were with this situation has been a matter of debate, with a feature in ''The Observer'' in 2001 speculating that they were "perhaps merely indifferent players (who had undoubtedly become more reluctant, to the point of mutiny, by the time the post-war memoirs were published)."<ref name="Katwala">{{Cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/englandfootball/story/0,,541528,00.html|first=Sunder|last=Katwala|title=England v Germany: a rivalry of two halves|work=The Observer|date=26 August 2001|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London}}</ref>

A [[BBC News Online]] report published in 2003 reported that the salute was calculated to show: "that Germany, which two months earlier had annexed Austria, was not a pariah state. The friendly game effectively helped clear the way for [[Neville Chamberlain|Chamberlain]]'s "[[Peace for our time]]" deal with Hitler, which, in turn, led to Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia."<ref name="Jonathan Duffy">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3128202.stm|first=Jonathan|last=Duffy|title=Football, fascism and England's Nazi salute|work=[[BBC News]]|date=22 September 2003|access-date=29 May 2006}}</ref> England won the match 6–3, but according to German writer Ulrich Linder, author of the book ''Strikers for Hitler'': "To lose to England at the time was nothing unusual because basically everybody lost to [them] at the time. For Hitler,  the propaganda effect of that game was more important than anything else."<ref name="Jonathan Duffy"/>

The two countries did not meet again on a football pitch for sixteen years. Two German states had been founded in 1949, with the [[Germany national football team]] continuing its tradition, based in the Federal Republic of Germany ([[West Germany]]) from 1949 to 1990. The German Democratic Republic ([[East Germany]]) fielded a separate [[East Germany national football team|national football team]]; although the English did play some matches against them, the rivalry never developed the same edge or high-profile. A third German team, [[Saarland national football team|Saarland]], also briefly existed between 1950 and 1956. However they never played a match against England.

In a friendly at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] on 1 December 1954, England won 3–1 against an under-strength West German side, who were at the time the champions of the world, having won the [[1954 FIFA World Cup]]. England won further friendlies against West Germany in 1956 (3–1 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin) and 1965 (1–0 in [[Nuremberg]]).

===1966–1969: 1966 FIFA World Cup===
{{Main|1966 FIFA World Cup final}}
England and West Germany met at Wembley again on 23 February 1966, as part of their preparations for the [[1966 FIFA World Cup]], which was to be held in England. England again won 1–0, with a goal from [[Nobby Stiles]], and the match also saw the first appearance for England of [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] striker [[Geoff Hurst]].

Both countries had a successful World Cup in 1966, and met in the final played at Wembley on Saturday, 30 July 1966. This was and still is regarded by many as the most important match ever played between the two teams, and it was also the first time they had ever met in a competitive game, as opposed to the friendly matches they had played before. It was also a highly eventful and in some respects controversial game, which created{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} the modern rivalry between the teams.

<!-- Commented out: [[File:Ghost Goal World Cup 1966.jpg|thumb|300px|left|[[Geoff Hurst]]'s controversial second goal during the [[1966 FIFA World Cup final]] is argued never actually to have crossed the goal line.]] -->
England led 2–1 until the very end of normal time, when a West German goal levelled the scores and took the match into [[Overtime (sports)|extra time]]. In the first period of extra time, England striker Geoff Hurst had a shot on goal which bounced down from the [[Goal (sports)|crossbar]] and then out of the goal, before being cleared away by the West German defenders.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMM3nW9dWvE|url-status=dead|title=YouTube|access-date=28 March 2016|archive-date=16 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116042658/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMM3nW9dWvE}}</ref> The England players celebrated a goal, but the referee was unsure as to whether or not the ball had crossed the line when it hit the ground. After consulting with a [[Assistant referee (association football)|linesman]], [[Tofiq Bahramov]], the referee awarded a goal to England. Bahramov, from the [[Soviet Union]], became famous and celebrated in English [[popular culture]] as "the Russian linesman", although he was actually from [[Azerbaijan]]. When England played the [[Azerbaijan national football team|Azerbaijan national team]] in a World Cup qualifier in October 2004—in a stadium named after Bahramov—many England fans travelling to the game asked to be shown the grave of the official, who had died in 1993, so that they could place flowers on it, and before the game a ceremony honouring him was attended by Hurst and other footballing celebrities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3740556.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|title=Baku memorial for 1966 linesman|date=13 October 2004|access-date=29 May 2006}}</ref>

West Germany, however, did not believe that the ball had crossed the line, with commentators such as Robert Becker of ''[[Kicker (sports magazine)|Kicker]]'' magazine accusing the linesman of bias because the West German team had eliminated the USSR in the semi-final.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bpb.de/publikationen/YZYY7V,4,0,Die_Geschichte_der_FIFAFu%DFballweltmeisterschaft.html|publisher=Bundescentral für politische Bildung ([[Federal Agency for Civic Education]])|title=Die Geschichte der FIFA-Fußballweltmeisterschaft|access-date=30 May 2006|language=de|trans-title=The History of the FIFA Soccer World Championship|location=Bonn}}</ref> Modern studies using film analysis and computer simulation have suggested the ball never crossed the line – both Duncan Gillies of the Visual Information Processing Group at [[Imperial College London]] and Ian Reid and Andrew Zisserman of the Department of Engineering Science at [[University of Oxford]] agree that the ball would have needed to travel a further 2.5–6&nbsp;cm to fully cross the line, and that therefore this was not a fair goal.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Reid |first1=Ian |last2=Zisserman |first2=Andrew |year=1996 |title=Goal-directed Video Metrology |journal=Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on Computer Vision |volume=II |pages=647–658 |location=New York City |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |editor1-last=Cipolla |editor1-first=R. |editor2-last=Buxton |editor2-first=B. |id=[[Lecture Notes in Computer Science|LNCS]] 1065 |access-date=19 May 2012 |url=http://www.robots.ox.ac.uk/~vgg/publications/papers/reid96.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302225512/http://www.robots.ox.ac.uk/~vgg/publications/papers/reid96.pdf |archive-date=2 March 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> In West Germany,  it led to the creation of the expression "[[:de:Wembley-Tor|Wembley-Tor]]", or "Wembley-Goal", a phrase used to describe any goal scored in a similar fashion to Hurst's.

England, however, scored another controversial goal at the end of extra time, winning 4–2. This goal came after fans began to spill onto the field, thinking the game was over, which should have stopped play. The goal, a third for Hurst (making him the only man ever to score a [[hat-trick]] in a World Cup final until [[Kylian Mbappe]] in [[2022 FIFA World Cup final|2022]]), was described by [[BBC Television]] commentator [[Kenneth Wolstenholme]] in a now-famous piece of commentary, "[[They think it's all over]]... it is now!", referring to the English fans who had spilled onto the field. The expression has become a celebrated part of English popular culture, indelibly linked with the game in the minds of the English public.

The 1966 final's influence on the culture surrounding the England team would not end there, however. Despite playing on their home soil, England wore their away kit of red shirts, white shorts and red socks, and since then England fans have had a special affinity for their team's away kit, with [[Retro style|retro]] 1966 shirts selling well in recent years.

The game is often held as having been the height of English sporting achievement, it has also created some favourable legacies; a common chant among England supporters at Germany games is "[[Two World Wars and One World Cup]]" to the tune of "[[Camptown Races]]".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2002/955747.stm|work=BBC News|title=England v Germany history|date=4 October 2000|access-date=29 May 2006}}</ref>

Two years after the World Cup, on 1 June 1968, the two teams met again in another friendly match, this time in West Germany, in which the West Germans won their first victory over an English team, 38 years after they had first played. The scoreline was 1–0, [[Franz Beckenbauer]] scoring for West Germany, but as [[Hugh McIlvanney]] wrote in his match report for ''The Observer'': "Comparing this miserable hour and a half (in which fouls far outnumbered examples of creative football) with the last great meeting between the countries is entirely fatuous. But that will not prevent the West Germans from doing it. Their celebrations will not be inhibited by the knowledge that today's losers were almost a reserve team, and even the agonies of boredom they shared with us will now seem worthwhile. They have beaten England, and that is enough."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/englandfootball/story/0,9565,541538,00.html|first=Hugh|last=McIlvanney|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|title=Shabby revenge for West Germany|date=2 June 1968|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London}}</ref>

===1970–89: 1970 FIFA World Cup===
Far more noted and remembered, however, was the next competitive meeting between the two teams, in the quarter-finals of the [[1970 FIFA World Cup]] in [[Mexico]]. England were 2–0 up, but Beckenbauer and Uwe Seeler equalised at 2–2 in the second half. In extra time, Geoff Hurst had a goal mysteriously ruled out<ref>England: The Official F.A History, Niall Edworthy, Virgin Publishers, 1997, {{ISBN|1-85227-699-1}}. p. 101</ref> and then Gerd Müller scored in extra time to win 3–2. England had been weakened by losing their goalkeeper [[Gordon Banks]] to illness, and also substituted [[Bobby Charlton]], one of their leading players, while the Germans were in the midst of their comeback. As McIlvanney put it when reflecting on the loss five days later, "Sir Alf Ramsey's team are out because the best goalkeeper most people have ever seen turned sick, and [[Peter Bonetti|one who is only slightly less gifted]] was overwhelmed by the suddenness of his promotion. In sport disaster often feeds upon itself but this was a sickeningly gluttonous example."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/englandfootball/story/0,9565,541551,00.html|first=Hugh|last=McIlvanney|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|title=Even the Scots had tears in their eyes...|date=21 June 1970|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London}}</ref>

The result was psychologically damaging for English morale—as ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper described in a 2006 feature: "Four days later [[Harold Wilson]] blamed [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]'s loss in the general election on the defeat. This marked the start of two decades of German footballing dominance and England's decline."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/story/0,,1781145,00.html|first=Mark|last=Perryman|work=[[The Guardian]]|title=The penalty clause|date=23 May 2006|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London}}</ref>

Two years later the teams met once more, in the quarter-finals of the [[UEFA European Football Championship|European Championship]], which were at the time held on a home-and-away basis. England lost 3–1 at Wembley on 29 April 1972 in the home leg, and on 13 May could only draw 0–0 in West Germany, being knocked out of the competition. Said ''The Observer'' in 2001: "England may have been robbed of the chance in Mexico ... but there were no shortage of excuses – the heat, the hostile crowd, the food which had felled Banks, the errors of Bonetti ... It was a conspiracy of fate more than a footballing defeat. In 1972, there were no excuses at all. West Germany did not just knock England out of the European Championships, they came to Wembley and comprehensively outclassed England."<ref name="Katwala"/> McIlvanney wrote in his match report for ''The Observer'': "No Englishman can ever again warm himself with the old assumption that, on the football field if nowhere else, the Germans are an inferior race."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/englandfootball/story/0,9565,541541,00.html|first=Hugh|last=McIllvanney|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|title=England shown the way out|date=30 April 1972|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London}}</ref>

===1990–99: 1990 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996===
There were several friendly games played in the 1970s and 1980s, with wins for both nations, but the next competitive match—a second round group game at the [[1982 FIFA World Cup]]—ended in a disappointing 0–0 draw. England were later eliminated from that competition after drawing Spain 0-0, while Germany reached the final. However, when the teams next met competitively, at the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]], it was a rather more dramatic and eventful clash in the semi-finals, the first time England had reached that far in the competition since their win in 1966.

In summer 1990, the process of [[German reunification]] had advanced far, with the [[Deutsche Mark]] being introduced in the East two days before the semi-finals on 3 July. Unlike in previous decades, East German fans could openly support the German team of the DFB which by then had an 80+ year tradition.

The England team had started the event poorly and had not been expected to reach that stage of the competition, but in the game they could match the stronger German team, managed by [[Franz Beckenbauer]]. The Germans took the lead in the 59th minute when a free-kick from [[Andreas Brehme]] deflected off [[Paul Parker (footballer)|Paul Parker]] and over goalkeeper [[Peter Shilton]]. [[Gary Lineker]] equalised in the 80th minute, and then [[David Platt (footballer)|David Platt]] had a goal ruled out in extra time. The result was thus decided by a [[Kicks from the penalty mark|penalty shoot-out]]—the England team's first—which West Germany won 4–3 after misses from [[Stuart Pearce]] and [[Chris Waddle]]. England would lose to host nation [[Italy national football team|Italy]] for the third-place consolation match, whilst West Germany defeated [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] in [[1990 FIFA World Cup final|the final]].

[[File:Franz Beckenbauer Bambi-Verleihung (cropped).jpg|thumb|Manager [[Franz Beckenbauer]] led the German football team to victory against England in 1990.]]
The match stayed heavily in the English popular consciousness — not simply for the football and the dramatic manner of the defeat, but also for the reaction of star player [[Paul Gascoigne]] to receiving a [[Yellow card (sport)|yellow card]]. His second of the tournament, his realisation that this would see him suspended for the final should England make it prompted him to burst into tears on the pitch. Said ''The Observer'' in 2004, "There are half a dozen images that define this decade of change, which help to show why football widened its appeal. First, and most important, is the sight of Paul Gascoigne crying into his England shirt after being booked in the 1990 World Cup semi-final against West Germany. Unaggressive and emotional, a billboard image that helped to start an apparently unstoppable surge in popularity for the national team."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1337062,00.html|first=Brian|last=Oliver|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|title=The kick that stunned football|date=31 October 2004|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London}}</ref>

Despite this rehabilitation of the image of football aided by the English national team's success in the 1990 tournament, the narrow defeat by Germany helped to increase the antipathy felt towards the German team and the German nation in general. Mark Perryman wrote in 2006: "How could we expect to beat mighty (West) Germany, who had only narrowly lost the final four years previously? To my mind it is the fact that we so nearly did, then lost in the penalty shoot-out that explains the past 16 years of an increasingly bitter rivalry."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/story/0,,1781145,00.html|first=Mark|last=Perryman|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|title=The penalty clause|date=23 May 2006|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London}}</ref>

Germany was reunited in October 1990. For the DFB team, few things changed apart from players previously capped for East Germany becoming eligible for the united German team. This made little difference to the tone and emotion of the rivalry.

England's first match against the unified Germany since 1938 was a friendly in 1991 at Wembley, which the Germans won 1–0. Five years later, at the [[1996 UEFA European Championship|1996 European Championships]], England played a unified German team for the first time in a competitive fixture, when they met in the semi-finals. Like the 1966 World Cup, the tournament was being held in England, and the semi-final was played at Wembley Stadium. England's fans and team were confident, particularly after wins in the group stage over Scotland (2–0) and the Netherlands (4–1) and their first ever penalty shoot-out victory, over [[Spain national football team|Spain]], in the quarter-finals. So vivid were the memories of 1966 for England fans that a media clamour ensued for England to wear red jerseys, instead of the unfamiliar-looking grey away kit that had been launched earlier that year (as England had not submitted details of any red kit to UEFA before the tournament, this was never going to be permitted, and England did wear grey).<ref>{{cite web|title=England's Away Uniform 1996|url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamUnif/Unif1996A.html|publisher=England Football Online|access-date=18 November 2006}}</ref>

The build-up to the game was soured, however, by headlines in English [[tabloid newspaper]]s which were regarded by many as overly nationalistic, and even [[racism|racist]] in tone, as they had also been before the previous match against Spain. Particularly controversial was the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'''s headline "Achtung! Surrender! For You Fritz, ze Euro 96 Championship is over", accompanied by a mock article aping a report of the declaration of war between the two nations in 1939. The editor of the paper, [[Piers Morgan]], subsequently apologised for the headline, particularly as it was at least partially blamed for violence following England's defeat, including a riot in [[Trafalgar Square]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20050114/ai_n9695588|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403000358/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20050114/ai_n9695588/|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 April 2009|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|title=Royal Nazi Row: Whatever you do, don't mention the war. Oops!|date=14 January 2005|access-date=29 May 2006}}</ref>

England took the lead in only the third minute, through tournament top scorer [[Alan Shearer]], but in the 16th minute [[Stefan Kuntz]] equalised, and despite many close shots and a disallowed goal from the Germans, the score remained level at 1–1 until the end of extra time. The match was settled by another penalty shoot-out, as in 1990, and although this time all five of England's initial penalty-takers were successful, so were all five German players. The shoot-out carried on to "sudden death" kicks, with [[Gareth Southgate]] missing for England and [[Andreas Möller]] scoring for Germany to put the hosts out. As in 1990, Germany went on to win the tournament.

Also [[The Football Association|the FA]] cancelled a friendly with Germany as it was pencilled for 20 April 1994 as it coincided with Hitler's 105th would-be birthday and played at the Berlin Olympic Stadium, the venue for the controversial and Nazi-politicized [[1936 Summer Olympics]].

===2000–2009: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier===
[[File:Wembley enggermatch.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Friendly match between England and Germany at [[Wembley Stadium]] on 22 August 2007]]
England and Germany were drawn to meet each other in the first round group stage of the [[UEFA Euro 2000|Euro 2000]]. Before the game, played on 17 June 2000 in [[Charleroi]], there were violent incidents involving England fans in the town centre, although these were mostly brief and there were no violent confrontations with German fans. Nonetheless, reporting of the violence did to a degree overshadow the match result in some media coverage.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/Euro2000/Story/0,,333897,00.html|first=Vivek|last=Chaudhary|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|title=Charleroi police deliver short sharp shocks to quell clashes|date=19 June 2000|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London}}</ref>

The match itself was a scrappy affair that lacked the drama of many of the previous encounters, with England securing a 1–0 win thanks to a second-half header by striker Alan Shearer. There was enthusiastic celebration of this result in England, particularly as this was the first time that England had won a competitive match against Germany since the 1966 World Cup final. The German reaction was more pessimistic. Rounding up the German media coverage, ''The Guardian'' reported: "'0–1! Germany weeps. Is it all over?' asked the mass circulation ''[[Bild]]'' newspaper in a front-page banner headline. 'Shearer tells us to pack our bags,' wrote Berlin's Der Tagesspiegel."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/Euro2000/Story/0,,333725,00.html|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|title=0–1! Germany weeps. Is it all over?|date=19 June 2000|access-date=29 May 2006|location=London}}</ref> Ultimately, both England and Germany lost their final group matches and were knocked out in the first round, finishing third and fourth respectively in their group.

England and Germany had also been drawn together in the same qualifying group for the [[2002 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Press |first=The Associated |date=1999-12-08 |title=SOCCER; World Cup Qualifying Draw Made |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/08/sports/soccer-world-cup-qualifying-draw-made.html |access-date=2024-07-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> England's home match against Germany was played on 7 October 2000, and was significant as it was the last international fixture ever to be played at the old Wembley Stadium, before it was demolished and rebuilt. England [[2000 England v Germany football match|lost 1–0]] to a German [[Direct free kick|free kick]] scored by [[Dietmar Hamann]]. "It was the last refuge of the inadequate. Half-time neared, England were a goal down and a sizeable section of the crowd sullied the ever-dampening occasion. 'Stand up if you won the War,' they sang", wrote journalist [[Ian Ridley]] in his match report for ''The Observer''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/englandfootball/story/0,9565,541589,00.html|first=Ian|last=Ridley|title=Keegan's shambles|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|date=8 October 2000|access-date=9 May 2006|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC SPORT {{!}} Football {{!}} World Cup 2002 {{!}} Wembley's sad farewell |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2002/961253.stm |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

[[File:Michaelowen newcastle07.JPG|thumb|left|150px|English striker [[Michael Owen]] scored a [[hat-trick]] against Germany in 2001.]]
The result prompted the immediate resignation of England manager [[Kevin Keegan]], and by the time [[2001 Germany v England football match|the return match]] was played at the [[Olympiastadion (Munich)|Olympic Stadium]] in [[Munich]] on 1 September 2001, England were now managed by their first ever foreign coach, [[Sven-Göran Eriksson]]. Expectations on the English side were low, but they surprisingly won the game 5–1 with a hat-trick from striker [[Michael Owen]], and eventually qualified for the World Cup as the winners of their group.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2001-09-01 |title=Awesome England thrash Germany |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/1515667.stm |access-date=2024-07-19 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2001-10-06 |title=England reach World Cup finals |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2002/1575190.stm |access-date=2024-07-19 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Some Germans were shocked by the scale of the defeat, with former striker [[Karl-Heinz Rummenigge]] stating that "I have never seen such a terrible defeat ... This is a new [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]] for us."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2002/1521144.stm|work=BBC News|title=Germans stunned by 'new Waterloo'|date=1 September 2001|access-date=29 May 2006}}</ref>

England and Germany next played on 22 August 2007, in a friendly at the newly rebuilt [[Wembley Stadium]]. England lost the match 2–1, their first defeat at the new Wembley, with Germany, following the unexpectedly successful 2006 World Cup, still rebuilding the national team.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6954720.stm|title=England 1–2 Germany|work=[[BBC News]]|date=22 August 2007|access-date=27 August 2007|first=Andrew|last=McKenzie}}</ref> Then in a friendly held on 19 November 2008, England inflicted Germany's first defeat in Berlin in thirty-five years with a 2–1 victory.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/nov/20/englandfootballteam-germanyfootballteam |title=Terry turns a howler on its head as England breach fortress Berlin |author=Kevin McCarra |publisher=The Guardian |date=20 November 2008 |access-date=2 December 2023}}</ref>

===2010–2019: 2010 FIFA World Cup===
In the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]], the two teams met at the [[Germany v England (2010)|round of 16]] stage after Germany had won [[2010 FIFA World Cup Group D|Group D]] and England had finished second in [[2010 FIFA World Cup Group C|Group C]]. Germany inflicted England's worst World Cup defeat to date, winning the match 4–1 to advance to the quarter-finals. After Germany had raced into a 2–0 lead thanks to [[Miroslav Klose]] and [[Lukas Podolski]], a [[Matthew Upson]] header halved the deficit for England.<ref name="2010WC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_51/default.stm |title=Germany 4–1 England |author=Phil McNulty |publisher=BBC Sport |date=27 June 2010 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> Moments later, a shot by [[Frank Lampard]] bounced off the crossbar and over the goal line.<ref name="2010WC"/> However, neither the referee [[Jorge Larrionda]] nor the linesman granted the goal, leading to significant protests from the English technical team.<ref name="2010WC"/> After Lampard came close by hitting the bar early in the second half, two goals from [[Thomas Müller]] sealed Germany's progression to the next round.<ref name="2010WC"/> Writing in the ''[[BBC]]'', author [[Phil McNulty]] said "England, with some justification, will bemoan their luck but nothing must disguise the manner in which they were outclassed by Germany in stages of this game and also what has been an ultimately bitterly disappointing World Cup campaign in South Africa."<ref name="2010WC"/>

Immediately after the match, parallels were drawn between Lampard's effort and [[Geoff Hurst]]'s goal in the 1966 World Cup final.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/5333533/ce/us/no-goal-england-ref-misses-first-half-call |title=Officials miss call on Lampard goal |publisher=[[ESPN Soccernet]] |date=27 June 2010 |access-date=27 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630113305/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/5333533/ce/us/no-goal-england-ref-misses-first-half-call |archive-date=30 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jun/27/germany-england-world-cup-2010c|title=World Cup 2010: Germany tear down England's defence |author=Kevin McCarra |publisher=The Guardian |date=27 June 2010 |access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref> However, in the 2010 case there was no dispute about whether the ball had crossed the goal line, because the ball had clearly touched the grass well within the goal, and the television replay immediately showed this. Following the match, the President of FIFA [[Sepp Blatter]] apologised to England for the incident, adding that it had convinced him to reopen the debate on goal line technology use in football.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8771294.stm |title=World Cup 2010: Blatter apologises for disallowed goal |publisher=BBC Sport |date=29 June 2010 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref>

Following Germany's 1–0 win over England in a friendly at Wembley in November 2013, German tabloid ''[[Bild]]'' humorously declared on its front cover that "Wembley is now German".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/10461839/Wembley-is-now-German-media-reaction-to-Germanys-1-0-victory-over-England.html |title='Wembley is now German' - media reaction to Germany's 1–0 victory over England |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=20 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.skysports.com/football/england-vs-germany/304114 |title=England beaten 1–0 by Germany at Wembley as Per Mertesacker scores only goal |publisher=[[Sky Sports]] |date=20 November 2013}}</ref>

===2020–present: UEFA Euro 2020 and beyond===
On 29 June 2021, England defeated Germany in the [[UEFA Euro 2020 knockout phase#England vs Germany|UEFA Euro 2020 round of 16 match]] 2–0, thanks to two late goals from [[Raheem Sterling]] and [[Harry Kane]].<ref name="HKRS">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51198606 |title=England 2–0 Germany: England end 55-year wait for knockout win over Germany |author=Phil McNulty |publisher=BBC Sport |date=29 June 2021 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> This was England's first knockout stage tournament win against Germany since 1966.<ref name="HKRS"/>

==Comparison of England and Germany in major international tournaments==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Tournament
!! width=50|{{fb|ENG}}
!! width=80|{{fb|GER}}
!! width=500|Notes
|-
|1930 FIFA World Cup
| rowspan="3" |''DNP''
|''DNP
|
|-
|1934 FIFA World Cup
| style="background:#def;"|3
|
|-
|1938 FIFA World Cup
| style="background:#def;"|10
|German team included Austrian players as a result of the [[Anschluss]].
|-
|1950 FIFA World Cup
| style="background:#def;"|8
|''DNP''
| German teams were still banned as a result of [[World War II]].
|-
|1954 FIFA World Cup
|7
| style="background:#def;"|1
|First tournament where only West Germany was represented.
|-
|1958 FIFA World Cup
|11
| style="background:#def;"|4
|
|-
|UEFA Euro 1960
| colspan="2" |''DNP''
|
|-
|1962 FIFA World Cup
| 8
| style="background:#def;"|7
|
|-
|UEFA Euro 1964
|''FTQ''
|''DNP''
|
|-
|1966 FIFA World Cup
| style="background:#def;"|1
|2
|Tournament hosted by England. In the [[1966 FIFA World Cup final|final]], England defeated West Germany 4–2 after extra time.
|-
|UEFA Euro 1968
| style="background:#def;"|3
|''FTQ''
|This remains the only World Cup or European Championship tournament where a German team (west or reunified) participated in the qualifying round but failed to qualify.
|-
|1970 FIFA World Cup
|8
| style="background:#def;"|3
|In the quarter-finals, West Germany defeated England 3–2 after extra time.
|-
|UEFA Euro 1972
|''FTQ'' (5–8)
| style="background:#def;"|1
|In the final qualifying round (effectively a quarter-final) West Germany defeated England 3–1 on aggregate.
|-
|1974 FIFA World Cup
| rowspan="3" |''FTQ''
| style="background:#def;"|1
|Tournament hosted by West Germany. This tournament is the only World Cup or European Championship where East Germany qualified.
|-
|UEFA Euro 1976
| style="background:#def;"|2
|
|-
|1978 FIFA World Cup
| style="background:#def;"|6
|
|-
|UEFA Euro 1980
|6
| style="background:#def;"|1
|
|-
|1982 FIFA World Cup
|6
| style="background:#def;"|2
|In the second group stage, West Germany drew 0–0 with England.  
|-
|UEFA Euro 1984
|''FTQ''
| style="background:#def;"|5
|
|-
|1986 FIFA World Cup
|8
| style="background:#def;"|2
|
|-
|UEFA Euro 1988
|7
| style="background:#def;"|3
|Tournament hosted by West Germany
|-
|1990 FIFA World Cup
|4
| style="background:#def;"|1
|In the semi-finals, West Germany defeated England on penalty shoot-out.
|-
|UEFA Euro 1992
|7
| style="background:#def;"|2
|First tournament since World War II to feature a reunified German team
|-
|1994 FIFA World Cup
|''FTQ''
| style="background:#def;"|5
|
|-
|UEFA Euro 1996
|3
| style="background:#def;"|1
|Tournament hosted by England. In the semi-finals, Germany defeated England on penalty shoot-out.
|-
|1998 FIFA World Cup
|9
| style="background:#def;"|7
|
|-
|UEFA Euro 2000
| style="background:#def;"|11
|15
|England and Germany were placed in the same first round group. Both were eliminated, with England finishing third and Germany fourth. England defeated Germany 1–0 in the match between the two teams.
|-
|2002 FIFA World Cup
|6
| style="background:#def;"|2
|England and Germany were placed in the same qualifying group. Germany [[2000 England vs Germany football match|won 1–0]] at Wembley, while England [[2001 Germany vs England football match|won 5–1]] in Munich.
|-
|UEFA Euro 2004
| style="background:#def;"|5
|12
|
|-
|2006 FIFA World Cup
|7
| style="background:#def;"|3
|Tournament hosted by Germany
|-
|UEFA Euro 2008
|''FTQ''
| style="background:#def;"|2
|
|-
|2010 FIFA World Cup
|13
| style="background:#def;"|3
|In the round of 16, Germany defeated England 4–1.
|-
|UEFA Euro 2012
|5
| style="background:#def;"|3
|
|-
|2014 FIFA World Cup
|26
| style="background:#def;"|1
|
|-
|UEFA Euro 2016
|12
| style="background:#def;"|3
|
|-
|2018 FIFA World Cup
| style="background:#def;"|4
| 22
|
|-
|UEFA Euro 2020
| style="background:#def;"|2
| 15
| Tournament hosted by multiple countries, Germany and England hosted some matches. In the round of 16, England defeated Germany 2–0.
|-
|2022 FIFA World Cup
| style="background:#def;"|6
| 17
|
|-
|UEFA Euro 2024
| style="background:#def;"| 2
| 5
|Tournament hosted by Germany
|}

{{legend|#def|Team performed better in the tournament}}

===Summary===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:93%; text-align:center; width:;"
|-
! rowspan=2 style="width:;" | 
! colspan=3 | FIFA World Cup
! colspan=3 | UEFA European Championship

|-! width= 150px|
! width= 70px|Champion
! width= 70px|Runners-up
! width= 70px|Top 3 total
! width= 70px |Champion
! width= 70px|Runners-up
! width= 70px |Top 4 total
|-
!{{fb|ENG}}
|1
|0
|1
|0
|2
|4
|-
!{{fb|GER}}
|4
|4
|12
|3
|3
|9
|}

==Women's football==

===Club football===
The [[Frauen-Bundesliga|German women's league]] is considered one of the strongest in the world. By the end of the 2021–22, German clubs had won nine [[UEFA Women's Champions League|Champions League]] titles, while an English club had won the competition on only one occasion ([[Arsenal L.F.C.|Arsenal]] in 2007).

===National teams===
The [[Germany women's national football team|German women's team]] was generally more popular in Germany than the [[England women's national football team|English women's team]] is in England. Germany matches were televised on national television and attracted millions of viewers. The [[2011 FIFA Women's World Cup|World Cup 2011]] quarter-final between Germany and [[Japan women's national football team|Japan]] attracted over 17 million viewers,<ref>{{cite web |author=oder |url=http://www.rp-online.de/sport/fussball/nationalelf/frauen/wm/Frauen-WM-2011-Die-besten-TV-Quoten_bid_66013.html?skip=1 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910175137/http://www.rp-online.de/sport/fussball/nationalelf/frauen/wm/Frauen-WM-2011-Die-besten-TV-Quoten_bid_66013.html?skip=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 September 2012 |title=Frauen-WM 2011: Die besten TV-Quoten |publisher=Rp-online.de |date=23 March 2016 |access-date=28 March 2016 }}</ref> while England women's matches struggled to even make it into television schedules.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

England's group games in the [[2011 FIFA Women's World Cup|World Cup 2011]] were watched by up to four million viewers on German television, but less than a million on [[BBC]], which means even with no German involvement, England games were at that point more popular in Germany than in the country the England team actually represents.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/jul/08/bbc-england-women-world-cup | location=London | work=The Guardian | first1=Owen | last1=Gibson | first2=John | last2=Ashdown | title=BBC makes U-turn on England's women's World Cup quarter-final | date=8 July 2011}}</ref> Observers{{who|date=July 2021}} noted that this gap in popularity was not just due to a lack of [[gender equality]] in England, but to the fact that the success of the German women's team meant that there was much more media coverage and interest.

England had not won a major title until they won [[UEFA Women's Euro 2022|Euro 2022]], their best result beforehand being Euro runners up in women's [[1984 European Competition for Women's Football|Euro 1984]] and in [[UEFA Women's Euro 2009|Euro 2009]]. Meanwhile, Germany's women have won two World Cups, [[2003 FIFA Women's World Cup|2003]] and [[2007 FIFA Women's World Cup|2007]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/tournament=103/awards/index.html |title=FIFA.com - Previous Tournaments |access-date=27 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102010038/http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/tournament%3D103/awards/index.html |archive-date=2 November 2011 }}</ref> a total of eight [[UEFA Women's Championship|European Championships]] in the years of [[1989 European Competition for Women's Football|1989]], [[UEFA Women's Euro 1991|1991]], [[UEFA Women's Euro 1995|1995]], [[UEFA Women's Euro 1997|1997]], [[UEFA Women's Euro 2001|2001]], [[UEFA Women's Euro 2005|2005]], [[UEFA Women's Euro 2009|2009]] and [[UEFA Women's Euro 2013|2013]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/index.html|title=UEFA Women's EURO|website=UEFA.com |publisher=Union of European Football Associations|access-date=28 March 2016}}</ref> and the [[Football at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament|2016 Summer Olympics]].

Along with [[Spain women's national football team|Spain]], Germany is the only nation to have won both the men's and women's FIFA World Cup, and the only women's team to win the European Championship a year after the men's team won (in 1996 and 1997). Together with the three Euro wins and the four World Cup wins of the men's team, Germany counts 18 major tournament titles, while England has two major tournament titles so far. On 4 July 2015, England upset Germany 1–0 in the [[third place match]] at the [[2015 FIFA Women's World Cup]]; this was their first ever victory against Germany in 21 matches.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33085963 "Women's World Cup: Germany Women 0-1 England Women"] BBC Sport. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.</ref> The two sides met in the [[2022 Arnold Clark Cup]], when England won 3–1 at [[Molineux Stadium]], and the [[UEFA Women's Euro 2022 final]] at [[Wembley Stadium]], with England won 2–1 to secure their first ever major title.<ref>{{cite news |title=Euro 2022: England beat Germany to win first major women's trophy in dramatic style |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62339532|first=Emma |last=Sanders|website=BBC Sport |date=31 July 2022 |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref>

==Media and public reactions==

===England===
{{Rquote|right|Germany may beat us at our national sport today, but that would be only fair. We beat them twice at theirs.|[[Vincent Mulchrone]] of ''[[The Daily Mail]]'', before the 1966 World Cup final.<ref name=Wheatcroft20100626>{{Cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/75866/look-whos-afraid-the-three-lions|title=Look Who's Afraid of the Three Lions|last=Wheatcroft|first=Geoffrey|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|date=26 June 2010|access-date=9 August 2011}}</ref>}}
Since [[World War II]], England has considered itself a rival to Germany in many areas, such as [[Automotive industry|automobile production]], [[naval forces]], trade and economy<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Beck|first1=Peter J.|title=Scoring for Britain international football and international politics, 1900–1939|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-F0d0xhdExEC|access-date=2 June 2011|edition=illustrated, annotated|series=Sport in the Global Society|volume=9|year=1999|publisher=Frank Cass|location=London|isbn=978-0-7146-4454-7|oclc=40120086}}</ref>—this rivalry has also permeated into football.

English football fans often deem Germany to be their traditional football rival and care more about this rivalry than those with other countries, such as [[England–Scotland football rivalry|Scotland]], [[Argentina–England football rivalry|Argentina]] or even [[Australia–England sports rivalries|Australia]]. In the run-up to any football match against Germany, many English [[tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloids]] publish articles that contain references to the Second World War, such as calling their opposition derogatory terms such as "[[krauts]]" or "[[hun]]".{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Two days before the [[UEFA Euro 1996]] semi-final, ''[[The Daily Mirror]]'' published an article on its front page that ran with the headline "Achtung! Surrender!": another reference to the war.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Mirror declares football war on Germany|first=Piers|last=Morgan|author-link=Piers Morgan|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-61316365|newspaper=[[Daily Mirror]]|location=London|oclc=223228477|date=24 June 1996|page=1|access-date=2 June 2011}}</ref> After the 5–1 victory over Germany in 2001, the English news media were ecstatic. ''[[The Sunday Mirror]]'' drew more comparisons to World War II, by running an article about the game on the front page under the headline "BLITZED".<ref>{{Cite news|title=BLITZED|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/England+v+Germany%3a+A+nation+celebrates+-+BLITZED%3b+England+5+Germany+1.-a077782888|newspaper=[[Daily Mirror]]|location=London|date=8 October 2001|page=1|access-date=14 September 2010}}</ref>

Germany's defeat by England in the 1966 World Cup has often been voted by the English as their greatest ever sporting moment,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/world-cup-countdown-memorable-moments-1915569.html|title=The 100 greatest World Cup moments|first=Simon|last=Rice|date=10 June 2010|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|access-date=14 September 2010|publisher=Independent Print|location=London|issn=0951-9467|oclc=470688362}}</ref> and the 5–1 victory in 2001 has also regularly placed highly.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/worldcup_moments/results.html|title=one hundred greatest world cup moments|year=2002|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|access-date=14 September 2010}}</ref> England's [[Manchester United]] defeating Germany's [[Bayern Munich]] at the [[1999 UEFA Champions League final]] is also highly regarded by English football fans as a high point in their perceived rivalry.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=100 Greatest Sporting Moments|episode-link=100 Greatest Sporting Moments|series=100 Greatest/100 Worst|series-link=100 Greatest/100 Worst|credits=Presenter: [[Vinnie Jones]]|network=[[Channel 4]]|airdate=19 January 2010}}</ref> The rivalry has also made its way into various aspects of English popular culture. For example, in the 1970s BBC television series ''[[Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?]]'', the character Terry remarks that 14 June 1970, the day that England lost 3–2 to West Germany, should be "indelibly printed on every true Englishman's mind".<ref>{{Cite episode|title=Home Is the Hero|series=Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?|series-link=Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|airdate=16 January 1973|series-no=1|number=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Sport on TV: Long history of being just a bit beastly.|first=Charlie|last=Catchpole|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sport+on+TV%3A+Long+history+of+being+just+a+bit+beastly-a062806542|newspaper=[[Daily Mirror]]|date=17 June 2000|location=London|oclc=223228477|access-date=15 September 2010}}</ref>

England player and broadcaster [[Gary Lineker]] notoriously said "Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win."<ref>{{cite web |date=30 January 2009 |title=Classic Players - Lineker, still at the top |url=https://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/do-you-remember/newsid=1010260/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331094309/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/do-you-remember/newsid=1010260/index.html |archive-date=31 March 2013 |access-date=25 November 2014 |publisher=[[FIFA]]}}</ref> He would paraphrase himself following the final of the [[UEFA Women's Euro 2022]], saying: "Football is a simple game. 22 women chase a ball for 90 minutes and, at the end, England actually win."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lineker |first=Gary |date=31 July 2022 |title=Football is a simple game. 22 women chase a ball for 90 minutes and, at the end, England actually win. Congratulations @lionesses. Fabulous. |url=https://twitter.com/garylineker/status/1553811175619674113 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Twitter}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2023}}

===Germany===
As far back as the 1960s, the footballing rivalry between England and Germany has been considered mainly an English phenomenon; this has been observed by several commentators of both English and German origin. In June 2009, British comedian [[Stephen Fry]] stated on the BBC show ''[[QI]]'' that, unlike the English, German football fans do not care about their team's loss at the 1966 World Cup final and may not even remember that they had made it that far. Instead, German fans consider their [[Germany–Netherlands football rivalry|rivalry with the Netherlands]] to be their traditional footballing rivalry and care more about the matches against them, such as the [[1974 FIFA World Cup]] final.<ref>{{cite episode|title=Germany|episode-link=QI (G series)#Episode 8 .22Germany.22|series=QI|series-link=QI|credits=Presenter: [[Stephen Fry]]|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|location=London|airdate=15 January 2010|series-no=7|number=8}}</ref>

Following their 5–1 loss in 2001, many German fans were not particularly concerned, instead revelling in the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]]' defeat by the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] the same day. Some sang directly after the loss to England: "''Ohne Holland fahr'n wir zur WM''" ("We're going to the World Cup without Holland!"), which was eventually made into a German [[:de:Helmut aus Mallorca|Schlager song]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/columns/story?id=790038&cc=5901&ver=global |title=Dutch-German rivalry on the wane? |first=Uli |last=Hesse |date=25 May 2010 |publisher=[[ESPN Soccernet]] |access-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526182155/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/columns/story?id=790038 |archive-date=26 May 2010 }}</ref>

In 2010, during the lead-up to 2010 World Cup match, journalist [[Marina Hyde]] remarked in ''[[The Guardian]]'' that the rivalry between the England and Germany football teams was "quite obviously an illusion, existing only in the minds of those wishful to the point of insanity – which is to say, the English". She added: "In a world that has changed bewilderingly in recent decades, England losing to Germany in major tournaments is one of the few certainties."<ref>{{Cite news|title=World Cup 2010: One-sided rivalry remains football's grand illusion|first=Marina|last=Hyde|author-link=Marina Hyde|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2010/jun/24/england-germany-rivalry-world-cup-2010|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=24 June 2010|access-date=31 August 2010|location=London|issn=0261-3077|oclc=60623878}}</ref> Similarly, professor Peter J. Beck described Germany's ambivalence to the rivalry, saying that "as far as the Germans are concerned, Sunday's game is nothing more than another sporting contest".<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/2010-world-cup-blog/Revealed-Why-England-and-Germany-REALLY-hate-each-other-by-Professor-Peter-Beck-Kingston-University-article493295.html 
 |title=Revealed: Why England and Germany REALLY hate each other 
 |first=Peter J. 
 |last=Beck 
 |date=24 June 2010 |publisher=Mirror Football 
 |access-date=2 June 2011 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628133933/http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/2010-world-cup-blog/Revealed-Why-England-and-Germany-REALLY-hate-each-other-by-Professor-Peter-Beck-Kingston-University-article493295.html 
 |archive-date=28 June 2010 }}</ref>

However, it would also be false to say that there is no rivalry ''at all'' between England and Germany; for one thing, the very fact that the English perceive it to be such cannot go unnoticed, for another, there is the long-standing quarrel about the "[[1966 FIFA World Cup final|Wembley goal]]" (only somewhat silenced since a clear goal was not awarded to the English [[2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#Germany vs England|in 2010]]). England vs. Germany matches, even friendlies, are always considered highly important sporting events (though the tradition and, usually, the quality of both the teams may account for most of that), going so far that a popular radioplay series mocks people in love as "looking deep into each other's eyes even if a England vs. Germany match is on TV".<ref>''Benjamin the Elephant'', epis. 7: ''falls in love'', 1980</ref> However, any feeling of rivalry towards England, if existent, is dwarfed by the German-Dutch rivalry.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

==List of matches==
===Unofficial internationals===
English teams played a number of games against German teams between 1899 and 1911. The first of these, encompassing an official Football Association tour of Germany and Austria in 1899, and a reciprocal tour of England by a German select squad, saw the English teams feature a mix of amateurs and professionals playing against German sides organised by regional associations, even after the foundation of the DFB in 1901. The games played between 1908 and 1913 saw the official German national team, organised by the DFB, play against the [[England national amateur football team|England Amateur]] side.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/MatchRsl/MatchRslUnoffpg1.html |title=England's matches: unofficial until 1946 |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=England Football Online |access-date=8 March 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.11v11.com/teams/germany/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/England/ |title=Germany national football team: record v England |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=11v11 |access-date=8 March 2019 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! No
! Date
! Venue
! Competition
! colspan="3" | Result
|-
| 1
| 23 November 1899
| {{flagicon|German Empire}} Sportpark Kurfürstendamm, [[Berlin]]
| rowspan=9|[[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany|1866}}
| align=center|2–13
| '''{{fb|England}}'''
|-
| 2
| 24 November 1899
| {{flagicon|German Empire}} Sportpark Kurfürstendamm, Berlin
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany|1866}}
| align=center|2–10
| '''{{fb|England}}'''
|-
| 3
| 28 November 1899
| {{flagicon|German Empire}} Exerzierplatz, [[Karlsruhe]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany|1866}}
| align=center|0–7
| '''{{fb|England}}'''
|-
| 4
| 21 September 1901
| {{flagicon|England}} [[White Hart Lane]], [[London]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|12–0
| {{fb|Germany|1866}}
|-
| 5
| 28 November 1899
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Hyde Road Football Stadium|Hyde Road]], [[Manchester]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|10–0
| {{fb|Germany|1866}}
|-
| 6
| 20 April 1908
| {{flagicon|German Empire}} Viktoria-Platz, Berlin
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany|1866}}
| align=center|1–5
| '''{{fbam|England}}'''
|-
| 7
| 16 March 1909
| {{flagicon|England}} White House Ground, [[Oxford]]
| align=right|'''{{fbam-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|9–0
| {{fb|Germany|1866}}
|-
| 8
| 4 April 1911
| {{flagicon|German Empire}} Viktoria-Platz, Berlin
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany|1866}}
| align=center|2–2
| {{fbam|England}}
|-
| 9
| 21 March 1913
| {{flagicon|German Empire}} Viktoria-Platz, Berlin
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany|1866}}
| align=center|0–3
| '''{{fbam|England}}'''
|-
|}
;Note that matches 6–9 Germany awarded caps against the England amateur team.

===Full internationals===
{{updated|26 September 2022}}

====Overview====
{|class=wikitable
! Type
! Matches
! {{Flagicon|England}}
! Draw
! {{Flagicon|Germany}}
|-
| UEFA European Championship*
| align=center|5
| align=center|'''2'''
| align=center|2
| align=center|1
|-
| FIFA World Cup*
| align=center|7
| align=center|2
| align=center|2
| align=center|'''3'''
|-
| UEFA Nations League
| align=center|2
| align=center|0
| align=center|2
| align=center|0
|-
! All competitive
! align=center|14
! align=center|4
! align=center|6
! align=center|4
|-
| Friendly
| align=center|21
| align=center|'''10'''
| align=center|2
| align=center|9
|-
! Total
! align=center|35
! align=center|14
! align=center|8
! align=center|13
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Euro and World Cup matchups include qualifiers. Penalty shoot-outs are recorded as draws, in which Germany defeated England 4–3 in 1990 and 6–5 in 1996.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Venue
! {{flagicon|England}}
! {{flagicon|Germany}}
! Draw
|-
| [[White Hart Lane]], [[London]]
| align=center|1
| align=center|0
| align=center|0
|-
| Wembley Stadium, [[London]]<ref>Including the [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|1923 Wembley Stadium]] and [[Wembley Stadium|2007 Wembley Stadium]].</ref>
| align=center|5
| align=center|6
| align=center|3
|-
! Matches in England
! align=center|6
! align=center|6
! align=center|3
|-
| {{flagicon|Berlin}} [[Deutsches Stadion (Berlin)|Deutsches Stadion]], [[Berlin]]
| align=center|0
| align=center|0
| align=center|1
|-
| {{flagicon|Berlin}} [[Olympiastadion (Berlin)|Olympiastadion]], [[Berlin]]
| align=center|4
| align=center|0
| align=center|1
|-
| {{flagicon|Bavaria}} [[Max-Morlock-Stadion|Städtisches Stadion]], [[Nuremberg]]
| align=center|1
| align=center|0
| align=center|0
|-
| {{flagicon|Lower Saxony}} [[Niedersachsenstadion]], [[Hanover]]
| align=center|0
| align=center|1
| align=center|0
|-
| {{flagicon|Bavaria}} [[Olympiastadion (Munich)|Olympiastadion]], [[Munich]]
| align=center|1
| align=center|1
| align=center|0
|-
| {{flagicon|North Rhine-Westphalia}} [[Rheinstadion]], [[Düsseldorf]]
| align=center|0
| align=center|1
| align=center|0
|-
| {{flagicon|North Rhine-Westphalia}} [[Westfalenstadion]], [[Dortmund]]
| align=center|0
| align=center|1
| align=center|0
|-
| {{flagicon|Bavaria}} [[Allianz Arena]], [[Munich]]
| align=center|0
| align=center|0
| align=center|1
|-
! Matches in Germany
! align=center|6
! align=center|4
! align=center|3
|-
| Neutral matches
| align=center|2
| align=center|3
| align=center|2
|-
|}

====Matches====
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! No
! Date
! Venue
! Competition
! colspan=3 | Result
! Head to Head
|-
| 1
| 10 May 1930
| {{sort|Germany 1|{{flagicon|Weimar Republic}}}} [[Deutsches Stadion (Berlin)|Deutsches Stadion]], [[Berlin]]
| rowspan=7|[[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly Match]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany|1919}}
| align=center|3–3
| {{fb|England}}
| –
|-
| 2
| 4 December 1935
| {{sort|England 1|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[White Hart Lane]], [[London]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|3–0
| {{fb|Germany|1935}}
| England 1
|-
| 3
| 14 May 1938
| {{sort|Germany 2|{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}}}} [[Olympiastadion (Berlin)|Olympiastadion]], [[Berlin]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany|1935}}
| align=center|3–6
| '''{{fb|England}}'''
| England 2
|-
| 4
| 1 December 1954
| {{sort|England 2|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|3–1
| {{fb|West Germany}}
| England 3
|-
| 5
| 26 May 1956
| {{sort|Germany 3|{{flagicon|West Germany}}}} [[Olympiastadion (Berlin)|Olympiastadion]], [[West Berlin]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|West Germany}}
| align=center|1–3
| '''{{fb|England}}'''
| England 4
|-
| 6
| 12 May 1965
| {{sort|Germany 4|{{flagicon|West Germany}}}} [[Max-Morlock-Stadion|Städtisches Stadion]], [[Nuremberg]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|West Germany}}
| align=center|0–1
| '''{{fb|England}}'''
| England 5
|-
| 7
| 23 February 1966
| {{sort|England 3|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|1–0
| {{fb|West Germany}}
| England 6
|-
| 8
| 30 July 1966
| {{sort|England 4|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| [[1966 FIFA World Cup final]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|[[1966 FIFA World Cup final|4–2]] {{aet}}
| {{fb|West Germany}}
| England 7
|-
| 9
| 1 June 1968
| {{sort|Germany 5|{{flagicon|West Germany}}}} [[Niedersachsenstadion]], [[Hanover]]
| [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly Match]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|West Germany}}'''
| align=center|1–0
| {{fb|England}}
| Germany 1
|-
| 10
| 14 June 1970
| {{sort|Neutral 1|{{flagicon|Mexico}}}} [[Estadio León]], [[León, Guanajuato|León]]
| [[1970 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#West Germany vs England|1970 FIFA World Cup quarter-final]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|West Germany}}'''
| align=center|3–2 {{aet}}
| {{fb|England}}
| Germany 2
|-
| 11
| 29 April 1972
| {{sort|England 5|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| rowspan=2|[[UEFA Euro 1972 quarter-finals|UEFA Euro 1972 qualifier quarter-final]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|England}}
| align=center|1–3
| '''{{fb|West Germany}}'''
| Germany 3
|-
| 12
| 13 May 1972
| {{sort|Germany 6|{{flagicon|West Germany}}}} [[Olympiastadion (Berlin)|Olympiastadion]], [[West Berlin]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|West Germany}}
| align=center|0–0
| {{fb|England}}
| –
|-
| 13
| 12 March 1975
| {{sort|England 6|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| rowspan=2|[[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly Match]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|2–0
| {{fb|West Germany}}
| England 8
|-
| 14
| 22 February 1978
| {{sort|Germany 7|{{flagicon|West Germany}}}} [[Olympiastadion (Munich)|Olympiastadion]], [[Munich]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|West Germany}}'''
| align=center|2–1
| {{fb|England}}
| Germany 4
|-
| 15
| 29 June 1982
| {{sort|Neutral 2|{{flagicon|Spain}}}} [[Santiago Bernabéu Stadium]], [[Madrid]]
| [[1982 FIFA World Cup Group B#West Germany vs England|1982 FIFA World Cup second group stage]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|West Germany}}
| align=center|0–0
| {{fb|England}}
| –
|-
| 16
| 13 October 1982
| {{sort|England 7|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly Match]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|England}}
| align=center|1–2
| '''{{fb|West Germany}}'''
| Germany 5
|-
| 17
| 12 June 1985
| {{sort|Neutral 3|{{flagicon|Mexico}}}} [[Estadio Azteca]], [[Mexico City]]
| [[1985 Azteca 2000 Tournament|Azteca 2000 Tournament]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|3–0
| {{fb|West Germany}}
| England 9
|-
| 18
| 9 September 1987
| {{sort|Germany 8|{{flagicon|West Germany}}}} [[Rheinstadion]], [[Düsseldorf]]
| [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly Match]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|West Germany}}'''
| align=center|3–1
| {{fb|England}}
| Germany 6
|-
| 19
| 4 July 1990
| {{sort|Neutral 4|{{flagicon|Italy}}}} [[Stadio delle Alpi]], [[Turin]]
| [[1990 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#West Germany vs England|1990 FIFA World Cup semi-final]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|West Germany}}'''
| align=center|1–1 {{aet}}<br>{{pso|4–3}}
| {{fb|England}}
| – 
|-
| 20
| 11 September 1991
| {{sort|England 8|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly Match]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|England}}
| align=center|0–1
| '''{{fb|Germany}}'''
|  Germany 7
|-
| 21
| 19 June 1993
| {{sort|Neutral 5|{{flagicon|United States}}}} [[Pontiac Silverdome]], [[Pontiac, Michigan|Pontiac]]
| [[1993 U.S. Cup]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|Germany}}'''
| align=center|2–1
| {{fb|England}}
| Germany 8
|-
| 22
| 26 June 1996
| {{sort|England 9|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| [[UEFA Euro 1996 knockout stage#Germany vs England|UEFA Euro 1996 semi-final]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|Germany}}'''
| align=center|1–1 {{aet}}<br>{{pso|6–5}}
| {{fb|England}}
| –
|-
| 23
| 17 June 2000
| {{sort|Neutral 6|{{flagicon|Belgium}}}} [[Stade du Pays de Charleroi]], [[Charleroi]]
| [[UEFA Euro 2000 Group A#England vs Germany|UEFA Euro 2000 group stage]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|1–0
| {{fb|Germany}}
| England 10
|-
| 24
| 7 October 2000
| {{sort|England 10|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| rowspan=2|[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|England}}
| align=center|[[2000 England v Germany football match|0–1]]
| '''{{fb|Germany}}'''
| Germany 9
|-
| 25
| 1 September 2001
| {{sort|Germany 9|{{flagicon|Germany}}}} [[Olympiastadion (Munich)|Olympiastadion]], [[Munich]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany}}
| align=center|[[2001 Germany v England football match|1–5]]
| '''{{fb|England}}'''
| England 11
|-
| 26
| 22 August 2007
| {{sort|England 11|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| rowspan=2|[[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly Match]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|England}}
| align=center|1–2
| '''{{fb|Germany}}'''
| Germany 10
|-
| 27
| 19 November 2008
| {{sort|Germany 10|{{flagicon|Germany}}}} [[Olympiastadion (Berlin)|Olympiastadion]], [[Berlin]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany}}
| align=center|1–2
| '''{{fb|England}}'''
| England 12
|-
| 28
| 27 June 2010
| {{sort|Neutral 7|{{flagicon|South Africa}}}} [[Free State Stadium]], [[Bloemfontein]]
| [[2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#Germany vs England|2010 FIFA World Cup round of 16]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|Germany}}'''
| align=center|4–1
| {{fb|England}}
| Germany 11
|-
| 29
| 19 November 2013
| {{sort|England 12|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| rowspan=4|[[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly Match]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|England}}
| align=center|0–1
| '''{{fb|Germany}}'''
| Germany 12
|-
| 30
| 26 March 2016
| {{sort|Germany 11|{{flagicon|Germany}}}} [[Olympiastadion (Berlin)|Olympiastadion]], [[Berlin]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany}}
| align=center|2–3
| '''{{fb|England}}'''
| England 13
|-
| 31
| 22 March 2017
| {{sort|Germany 12|{{flagicon|Germany}}}} [[Westfalenstadion]], [[Dortmund]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|Germany}}'''
| align=center|1–0
| {{fb|England}}
| Germany 13
|-
| 32
| 10 November 2017
| {{sort|England 13|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|England}}
| align=center|0–0
| {{fb|Germany}}
| –
|-
| 33
| 29 June 2021
| {{sort|England 14|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| [[UEFA Euro 2020 knockout phase#England vs Germany|UEFA Euro 2020 round of 16]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|2–0
| {{fb|Germany}}
| England 14
|-
| 34
| 7 June 2022
| {{sort|Germany 13|{{flagicon|Germany}}}} [[Allianz Arena]], [[Munich]]
| rowspan=2|[[2022–23 UEFA Nations League A#Group 3|2022–23 UEFA Nations League A]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|Germany}}
| align=center|1–1
| {{fb|England}}
| –
|-
| 35
| 26 September 2022
| {{sort|England 15|{{flagicon|England}}}} [[Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|England}}
| align=center|3–3
| {{fb|Germany}}
| –
|-
|}

Note: Since 1908, Germany is represented by the [[German Football Association]] (DFB) which fields the [[Germany national football team]]. During German division (1949–1990), the team of the [[German Football Association]] based in Frankfurt, [[Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] was colloquially called West Germany.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! # !! German !! Years
|-
| {{Flag|German Empire|name=Imperial Germany}}
| rowspan=3|[[German Reich|Deutsches Reich]]
| until 1919
|-
| {{Flag|Weimar Republic|name=Weimar Germany}}
| 1919–1933
|-
| {{Flag|Nazi Germany|name=Nazi Germany}}
| 1933–1945
|-
| {{Flag|West Germany}}
| rowspan=2|Bundesrepublik Deutschland
| 1949–1990
|-
| {{Flag|Germany|name=Reunited Germany}}
| since 1990
|-
|}

==East German national team==
England played four matches against [[East Germany national football team|East Germany]] (1949–1990), all of which being [[friendly match|friendly matches]]. 

'''List of matches:'''

{| class="wikitable"
! No
! Date
! Venue
! Competition
! colspan="3" | Result
! Ref
|-
| 1
| 2 July 1963
| {{flagicon|East Germany}} [[Zentralstadion (1956)|Zentralstadion]], [[Leipzig]]
| rowspan=4|[[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]]
| align=right|{{fb-rt|East Germany}}
| align=center|1–2
| '''{{fb|England}}'''
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/east-germany-v-england-02-june-1963-228430/ |title=East Germany v England, 02 June 1963 |website=11v11 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref>
|-
| 2
| 25 November 1970
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|3–1
| {{fb|East Germany}}
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/england-v-east-germany-25-november-1970-231177/ |title=England v East Germany, 25 November 1970 - 11v11 match report |website=11v11 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> 
|-
| 3
| 29 May 1974
| {{flagicon|East Germany}} Zentralstadion, Leipzig
| align=right|{{fb-rt|East Germany}}
| align=center|1–1
| {{fb|England}}
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/east-germany-v-england-29-may-1974-232847/ |title=East Germany v England, 29 May 1974 |website=11v11 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref>
|-
| 4
| 12 September 1984
| {{flagicon|England}} Wembley Stadium, London
| align=right|'''{{fb-rt|England}}'''
| align=center|1–0
| {{fb|East Germany}}
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/england-v-east-germany-12-september-1984-238679/ |title=England v East Germany, 12 September 1984 |website=11v11 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref>
|-
|}

'''All-time record'''

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! {{flagicon|England}} win
! Draw
! {{flagicon|East Germany}} win
|-
| 3
| 1
| 0
|-
|}

==Club level==
{{more citations needed|section|date=July 2021}}
As well as the rivalry between the national sides, English and German club teams have also met on numerous occasions in the various European club competitions. The English hold the upper hand in club football encounters.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

===Finals===
Other memorable matches were the controversial [[1975 European Cup final]] in which Bayern beat [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] after the latter had penalty claims turned down by a French referee who also disallowed a goal scored by [[Peter Lorimer]] with a shot from outside the area.
Apart from the 1977 European Cup final, Liverpool beat Mönchengladbach, they also met in the [[1973 UEFA Cup final]] and the 1978 European Cup semi-final. Liverpool had defeated four German sides on their way to victory in their 1973 win.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} In the final first leg at [[Anfield]], Liverpool won 3–0, only for Borussia Mönchengladbach to pull back to 3–2 on aggregate by half-time. The Reds hung on in the second half. Aston Villa defeated FC Bayern Munich in [[1982 European Cup final]] in Rotterdam.

In the memorable [[1999 UEFA Champions League final]] between [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and Bayern Munich, United were trailing 1–0 until they scored two late goals in injury time to win 2–1.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1999/05/28/phead.htm |work=Irish Examiner |title=Tabloids run riot on night of triumph for United |date=28 May 1999 |access-date=14 June 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050514160824/http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1999/05/28/phead.htm |archive-date=14 May 2005 }}</ref> 

On 19 May 2012, [[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]] met [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] in the [[2012 UEFA Champions League final]]. Bayern Munich suffered defeat at the [[Allianz Arena]]; a game dubbed "Finale dahoam" ([[Bavaria]]n for "final at home") as it marked the second time that any team played the tournament's final at their home ground. 
The game<ref>{{cite web|work=BBC Sport|date=19 May 2012|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18044385|title=Chelsea 1–1 Bayern Munich (aet, 4–3 pens)}}</ref> ended as a 1–1 draw after [[Overtime (association football)|extra time]] before being decided 4–3 on penalties. Bayern Munich seemed like the more dominant of the two sides throughout, but could not break down Chelsea's defence.<ref>{{cite web|work=International Business Times|date=20 May 2012|title=Ex-German Midfielder Says Chelsea's Champions League Win was "Unfair"|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/343113/20120520/chelsea-champions-league-win-unfair-bayern-munich.htm"}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Yahoo Nachrichten|date=20 May 2012|title=Matthias Sammer on Chelsea: "How this team plays is a disaster" (German article)|url=http://de.nachrichten.yahoo.com/matthias-sammer-%C3%BCber-den-fc-chelsea-wie-diese-232206995.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216200946/http://de.nachrichten.yahoo.com/matthias-sammer-%C3%BCber-den-fc-chelsea-wie-diese-232206995.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 December 2013}}</ref> 

Borussia Dortmund's wins over holders [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] and Liverpool (final in Glasgow) in the [[1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup]] were memorable as were West Ham's win over [[TSV 1860 Munich]] at [[Wembley Stadium]] in the final of the same competition a year earlier. Chelsea also defeated VfB Stuttgart in the [[1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final|final of 1998]].

===Other notable matches===
Leeds would eventually eliminate a German team ([[VfB Stuttgart]]) in unexpected and bizarre circumstances. After the Germans had qualified, in the first round of the [[1992–93 UEFA Champions League]], on the away goals rule, the return leg was awarded by UEFA 3–0 to Leeds United because Stuttgart fielded an extra foreigner, thus infringing the European competition rules that were in place at the time. A replay was ordered as the aggregate stood at 3–3. Leeds won the replay at [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]]'s [[Camp Nou]] 2–1.

Borussia Dortmund beat Manchester United 1–0 both home and away in the semi-final of the [[1996–97 UEFA Champions League]] which they won, United having been guilty of squandering numerous chances in both legs, especially the return leg at [[Old Trafford]]. In the [[2015–16 UEFA Champions League]], Bayern Munich defeated Arsenal 5–1 in the group stage. In the next year's competition they met again in the round of 16, where Bayern repeated the scoreline home and away for a 10–2 aggregate victory. On 1 October 2019, Bayern thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 7–2 win in a [[2019–20 UEFA Champions League]] match.

The outspoken [[Brian Clough]] is on record boasting that he never lost to a German side and that he took satisfaction from this for what the Germans had done to his father during the war. Clough memorably led Nottingham Forest to a 1–0 win in Cologne following a 3–3 draw at the [[City Ground]] in the 1979 semi-final en route to Forest winning their first European Cup. There were also some encounters between English league sides and clubs from [[East Germany]] which mostly ended in favour of the English sides, although these confrontations were less spectacular than those involving clubs from West Germany. However, Nottingham Forest under Clough lost 0-1 at home to [[BFC Dynamo]] in the quarter-finals of the [[1979-80 European Cup]] in 1980. The match was historic as it saw BFC Dynamo became the first German team to defeat an English team in England in the European Cup.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www1.wdr.de/stichtag/stichtag-gruendung-bfc-dynamo-100.html |title=15. Januar 1966 – "Stasi-Klub" BFC Dynamo gegründet |date=15 January 2021 |website=wdr.de |location=Cologne |publisher=[[Westdeutscher Rundfunk]] |language=de |access-date=17 April 2021}}</ref>

==Players==
The rivalry between the two nations has not prevented their respective nationals from playing in each other's domestic leagues, many notable German players have played in England, including [[Bert Trautmann]] ([[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]), [[Jürgen Klinsmann]] ([[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]), [[Jens Lehmann]] ([[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]), [[Michael Ballack]] ([[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]), [[Mesut Özil]] ([[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]), [[Lukas Podolski]] ([[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]), [[Jérôme Boateng]] ([[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]), [[Bastian Schweinsteiger]] ([[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]) and [[Ilkay Gündogan|İlkay Gündoğan]] ([[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]).{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} Trautmann was voted [[Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year]] in 1956 for continuing to play in goal for Manchester City in the 1956 FA Cup final despite a neck injury. Klinsmann was voted the same accolade in 1995 while playing for Tottenham, where he pioneered the '[[Diving (association football)|diving]]' [[goal celebration]].

Fewer Englishmen have played in Germany,{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} with notable players being [[Kevin Keegan]] ([[Hamburger SV]]), [[Jude Bellingham]] ([[Borussia Dortmund]]), [[Owen Hargreaves]] ([[Bayern Munich]]).<ref name="Keegan">{{cite news|url=https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/harry-kane-bellingham-sancho-keegan-hargreaves-best-english-players-20214 |title=Harry Kane, Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham, Kevin Keegan and Owen Hargreaves: The Bundesliga’s best English players |publisher=Bundesliga |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> Keegan won two consecutive Ballon d'Or awards and was a [[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]] finalist during his time at Hamburg.<ref name="Keegan"/> In 2023, England's captain and all-time highest goalscorer, [[Harry Kane]] joined Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66484550 |title=Harry Kane joins Bayern Munich ending record-breaking Tottenham career |publisher=BBC Sport |date=12 August 2023 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Argentina–England football rivalry]]
*[[England–Ireland football rivalry]]
*[[England–Scotland football rivalry]]
*[[List of sports rivalries in the United Kingdom#England and Wales|English football club rivalries]]
*[[France–Germany football rivalry]]
*[[Germany–Italy football rivalry]]
*[[Germany–Netherlands football rivalry]]
*[[German football rivalries]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.midfielddynamo.com/matches/10_englandgermany.htm Article detailing 10 famous England v Germany matches]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110312234725/http://spitfiresite.com/2010/06/battle-of-britain-1940-football-and-the-battle-of-britain.html Football and the Battle of Britain – analysis of Anglo-German football rivalry]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100701073455/http://www.casinobeacon.co.uk/news-articles/news/2010-06/england-germany-270610.htm England v Germany 2010 Pre-Match]
*[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/englandfootball/story/0,9565,541582,00.html England v Germany: The results in full] at [[The Observer]] 
*[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesd/duiengres.html England-Germany matches 1908-2017] at [[RSSSF]]

{{England national football team}}
{{Germany national football team}}
{{Association football international rivalries in Europe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:England-Germany football rivalry}}
[[Category:England–Germany football rivalry| ]]
[[Category:International association football rivalries]]
[[Category:England national football team rivalries]]
[[Category:Germany national football team rivalries]]
[[Category:Germany–United Kingdom sports relations|Football]]
[[Category:England at the 1966 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:England at the 1970 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:England at the 1990 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:England at the 2002 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:England at the 2010 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:England at UEFA Euro 1996]]
[[Category:England at UEFA Euro 2000]]
[[Category:England at UEFA Euro 2020]]
[[Category:West Germany at the 1966 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:West Germany at the 1970 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:West Germany at the 1990 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:Germany at the 2002 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:Germany at the 2010 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:Germany at UEFA Euro 1996]]
[[Category:Germany at UEFA Euro 2000]]
[[Category:Germany at UEFA Euro 2020]]
[[Category:Football hooliganism in the United Kingdom]]