England v Germany: Classic matches, great goals, statistics and history of this famous football rivalry
A trip down memory lane to look back on some classic matches and memorable moments between England and Germany.
England and Germany lock horns in an international friendly at Wembley on Friday night as both countries begin their preparations for next summer's World Cup finals in Russia.
There's been no shortage of drama in one of football's biggest rivalries down the years so we've compiled a collection of highlights from the classic encounters while we also have their full head-to-head record as well as statistics, Sky Bet odds and betting tips looking ahead to Friday's clash.
England 4-2 West Germany, Wembley, July 30 1966
We couldn't start anywhere else, could we?
At this moment in history, the rivalry was rather one-sided to say the least, with England winning all six of the previous encounters since their first meeting was drawn 3-3 back in 1930.
Sir Alf Ramsey's men were favourites to lift the Jules Rimet trophy for the first time but were taken to extra-time when Wolfgang Weber struck a late equaliser. 'The' Russian linesman controversially gave England a helping hand when ruling Geoff Hurst's shot had crossed the line after bouncing down from the crossbar before the West Ham striker became a footballing legend when completing his hat-trick...
Here are all the goals from England's only major final...
West Germany 3-2 England, Leon, June 14, 1970
West Germany finally broke their duck against England two years earlier but this was their real moment of revenge when Franz Beckenbauer inspired them to a dramatic 3-2 quarter-final victory at the 1970 World Cup. Superb goals from Alan Mullery and Martin Peters put the defending champions 2-0 up but an infamous howler from Peter Bonetti allowed Beckenbauer to pull one back before Uwe Seeler's hopeful header left Gordon Banks' replacement stranded. England, now without the subbed Bobby Charlton, tired in extra-time as Gerd Muller's extra-time volley completed the comeback.
West Germany 1-1 England (Pens: 4-3), Turin, July 4 1990
For English football fans of a certain era, Italia '90 will always be so fondly remembered despite the heartbreaking ending which effectively began the nation's penalty shoot-out hoodoo. The heroics of Gazza, Lineker and Platt - not to mention the leadership of the late, great Sir Bobby Robson - helped England into the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since going all the way in 1966. Andreas Brehme's wickedly-deflected free-kick off Paul Parker looped over Peter Shilton to give the Germans a 1-0 lead only for Lineker to strike a superb 80th-minute equaliser as the match went into extra-time. Then we had Gazza's tears, Lineker's "I think you better have a word with him" and of course the shoot-out in which Stuart Pearce saw his effort saved before Chris Waddle blazed over the bar to seal the defeat.
England 1-1 Germany (Pens: 5-6), Wembley, June 26 1996
Football was 'coming home' during a glorious summer which promised so much and so nearly delivered a dream finale until another penalty shoot-out with Germany got in the way.
"Oh noooo," cried commentator Barry Davies to sum up the united feelings of the host nation as Gareth Southgate's weak penalty was decisively saved by Andreas Kopke, before Andreas Moller blasted home the winning kick high into the roof of the net to give eventual winners Germany a place in the Euro '96 final.
Earlier, Alan Shearer gave Terry Venables' team an early lead only for Stefan Kuntz to equalise soon after while in extra-time Darren Anderton hit the post and Paul Gascoigne came this close to what would have been a Golden Goal...
Germany 1-5 England, Munich, September 1, 2001
A dreary 1-0 defeat at Wembley during the same World Cup qualifying campaign marked the end of Kevin Keegan's disappointing reign but almost a year later, new boss Sven Goran Eriksson oversaw an unforgettable night which heralded the start of what was widely dubbed the 'Golden Generation' (that didn't win anything!).
Despite falling behind to a Carsten Jancker strike, Michael Owen equalised before Steven Gerrard fired England 2-1 ahead before the interval with a superb strike. The Three Lions ran riot after the break as Owen completed his hat-trick while Emile Heskey also got in on the act to complete the rout.
Germany 4-1 England, Bloemfontein, June 27, 2010
An emphatic World Cup win for Germany as Fabio Capello's England were picked off on the counter-attack in South Africa. Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski put Germany two up but England briefly threatened a comeback when Matthew Upson pulled one back and Frank Lampard's chip crossed the line only for the officials to claim otherwise. A second-half brace by Thomas Muller put Joachim Low's men into the last eight.
Would it have been any different had Frank Lampard's strike at 2-1 down been allowed?
Germany 2-3 England, Berlin, March 26, 2016
Let's end this trip down memory lane on a happy note for England fans, with one of the most recent meeting between the sides which gave the nation false hope ahead of what turned out to be an embarrassing Euro 2016 campaign for Roy Hodgson's men. Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez scored either side of half-time to give the defending European champions a 2-0 lead but Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy levelled things up before Eric Dier's header won the game for England in stoppage time.
England v Germany: Head-to-head record
- World Cup (including qualifiers)
England 2 wins, Germany 4 wins (1 via penalty shoot-out), 1 draw - European Championships (including qualifiers)
England 1 win, Germany 2 wins (1 via penalties), 1 draw - Friendlies
England 10 wins, Germany 9 wins, 1 draw - Total
England 13 wins, Germany 15 wins, 3 draws
England v Germany: Past meetings
- Germany 3-3 England , Berlin, May 1930
- England 3-0 Germany, White Hart Lane, December 1935
- Germany 3-6 England, Berlin, May 1938
- England 3-1 Germany, Wembley, December 1954
- Germany 1-3 England, Berlin, May 1956
- Germany 0-1 England, Nuremberg, May 1965
- England 1-0 Germany, Wembley, February 1966
- England 4-2 Germany aet, Wembley, July 1966 (World Cup)
- Germany 1-0 England, Hannover, June 1968
- England 2-3 Germany aet, Leon, Mexico, June 1970 (World Cup)
- England 1-3 Germany, Wembley, April 1972 (Euro 1972 Qual)
- Germany 0-0 England, Berlin, May 1972 (Euro 1972 Qual)
- England 2-0 Germany, Wembley, March 1975
- Germany 2-1 England, Munich, February 1978
- England 0-0 Germany, Madrid, Spain, June 1982 (World Cup)
- England 1-2 Germany, Wembley, October 1982
- England 3-0 Germany, Mexico City, June 1985
- Germany 3-1 England, Dusseldorf, September 1987
- England 1-1 Germany (Pens: 3-4), Turin, Italy, July 1990 (World Cup)
- England 0-1 Germany, Wembley, September 1991
- England 1-2 Germany, Detroit, USA, June 1993
- England 1-1 Germany (Pens: 5-6), Wembley, June 1996 (Euro 1996)
- England 1-0 Germany, Charleroi, Belgium, June 2000 (Euro 2000)
- England 0-1 Germany, Wembley, October 2000 (World Cup Qual)
- Germany 1-5 England, Munich, September 2001 (World Cup Qual)
- England 1-2 Germany, Wembley, August 2007
- Germany 1-2 England, Berlin, November 2008
- England 1-4 Germany, Bloemfontein, South Africa, June 2010 (World Cup)
- England 0-1 Germany, Wembley, November 2013
- Germany 2-3 England, Berlin, March 2016
- Germany 1-0 England, Dortmund, March 2017
England v Germany: Opta statistics
- This is the 32nd meeting between these two countries, with both nations winning 13 games apiece (five draws, although Germany won two of those on penalty shoot-outs).
- Germany have scored in 13 of their last 14 international contests with England, only failing to score in their Euro 2000 match, losing 1-0 after an Alan Shearer strike.
- Including the 1966 World Cup final, England have faced Germany at Wembley on 11 previous occasions (W4 D1 L6) – Germany have won the last three in a row, with the most recent meeting coming in November 2013, with Per Mertesacker scoring the only goal.
- Since that loss, the Three Lions have won 15 of their last 17 games at Wembley (D1 L1), with a current unbeaten run of seven (W6 D1).
- England have won each of their last four internationals under Gareth Southgate, their longest run since October 2015 (5 successive wins).
- Die Mannschaft have won each of their last seven internationals, their best winning streak since November 1995 – they haven’t won eight in a row since June 1980 (12 game run).
- After eight games without a goal, Harry Kane has scored in five of his last six England internationals, netting seven goals.
- Joe Hart is set to make his 75th appearance for England, which would make him the joint second-highest capped goalkeeper, with just Peter Shilton (125) ahead of him.
England v Germany betting tips & Sky Bet odds
England are the underdogs at 13/5 with Sky Bet to win Friday's clash while Germany can be backed at 11/10, with the draw 5/2.
Sky Bet have seven Price Boosts ahead of kick-off including Jamie Vardy and Leory Sane both to score at 10/1 from 8/1 and Marcus Rashford to score first at 9/1 from 7/1.
You can also click here to read our Andy Schooler's in-depth betting preview of the match.