England kick-off their Euro 2020 knockout campaign with a mouth-watering encounter against historic rivals Germany on home soil this evening.
Gareth Southgate’s side have been uninspiring but effective en route to the last-16, claiming seven points from nine in Group D with two wins and a draw, which saw the Three Lions net just twice, though conceding none.
In Germany, they face their first major test of the tournament. Joachim Low’s side squeezed through Group F – the ‘group of death’ – eventually finishing as runners-up behind France, who are now out after their defeat to Switzerland on Monday night.
As the saying goes, form goes out the window in fixtures such as these, however.
England and Germany are certainly no strangers in cup competition. Of course, the Three Lions claimed their one and only World Cup triumph with victory over tonight’s opponents in 1966, thanks to Geoff Hurst’s historic hat-trick.
There was also the Frank Lampard goal that never was as Germany knockout England out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Southgate, in particular, will also remember missing the crucial penalty as Germany beat England in the Euro ’96 semi-final, before going on to win the tournament.
With the clash quickly approaching, Sportsmail takes you through the all-important information.
Gareth Southgate (right) and his captain Harry Kane (left) are looking to guide England to an historic win over Germany and a place in the Euro 2020 round of 16
When is England vs Germany?
The last-16 clash between England and the Germany will take place on Tuesday, June 29.
The match will start at 5pm BST and will be played at Wembley Stadium, which will hold an expected 45,000 fans.
Elsewhere, potential quarter-final opponents Sweden and Ukraine are playing their last-16 encounter later in the evening, with kick-off at 8pm.
How to watch the match
England vs Germany will be broadcast for free on BBC One, with coverage starting at 4pm.
UK viewers will be able to stream the match online for free via BBC iPlayer.
Sportsmail will also be running a live blog, so you can keep up-to-date with us.
How did England qualify for the knockouts?
England were one of two teams, alongside Italy, who didn’t concede a goal in the group stages
Raheem Sterling (centre) has scored both of England’s two goals as they reached the last-16
As stated, England didn’t particularly sparkle in the group stage, but particularly with the likes of Holland and France already going out in the knockout stages, perhaps a bit of consistency is more important.
The Three Lions looked largely composed en route to the last-16, though their 0-0 draw against Scotland had a lot more heart-in-mouth moments than the scoreline suggests.
They started their campaign with a 1-0 win over Croatia, a team who reached the World Cup final in 2018 and pushed an impressive Spain to extra-time in their last-16 encounter on Monday.
It was Raheem Sterling who grabbed the only goal of the game, finishing well after a terrific ball from midfield general Kalvin Phillips.
Next up was Scotland, which was a match that really could have gone either way. There were chances at both ends, with a draw probably the fair result in the end. The point gave the Scots a chance to qualify, but their defeat to Croatia saw Steve Clarke’s side finish bottom of the group.
England came into their last group stage match against the Czech Republic having already qualified, but they needed to win to top the group.
There were questions beforehand as to the best route to the final, but with Sterling scoring yet again to seal another 1-0 win, England certainly bagged the favourable option.
- June 13: England 1-0 Croatia
- June 18: England 0-0 Scotland
- June 22: Czech Republic 0-1 England
How did Germany qualify for the knockouts?
Germany clinched second spot in Group F, which earned them an historic tie against England
Leon Goretzka scored the crucial goal as Germany sealed their place in the round of 16
Germany’s route to the last-16 was certainly less straightforward than England’s – which isn’t overly surprising given the opposition in Group F.
It was France who came into the tournament as strong contenders, if not favourites, and they earned an impressive win over Germany in the first group game.
Needing a victory, Germany found themselves 1-0 down in their following encounter against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. Spearheaded by Kai Havertz, they bounced back, however, eventually winning the match 4-2.
With such an impressive victory, they looked all-but certain to progress to the last-16, particularly with France going head-to-head against Portugal, while they took on Hungary.
Yet, they once again found themselves behind and needed an 84th-minute Leon Goretzka equaliser to seal a 2-2 draw and a spot in the round of 16.
- June 15: France 1-0 Germany
- June 19: Portugal 2-4 Germany
- June 23: Germany 2-2 Hungary
Team news
England are expected to play with a three-man defence when they face Germany at Wembley
Harry Maguire (left) will keep his place in the team alongside partner John Stones (right)
Sportsmail understands that Southgate is set to make a major change tonight, opting for three the back in a 3-4-3 formation, which was used as England reached the last-four of the World Cup in 2018.
England used a back four in all three of their group stage fixtures, but the step-up in competition, as well as the fact Germany will also likely field a back three, has seen Southgate shake things up.
Harry Maguire, John Stones and Kyle Walker are set to be the three who play in central defence, Luke Shaw expected to play on the left. After complaining about England’s poor set pieces thus far, Southgate will likely opt for Kieran Trippier on the right.
Meanwhile, Phillips and Declan Rice are set to keep their place in central midfield, despite Jordan Henderson having another week to build his fitness.
Harry Kane and Sterling are also to keep their places in the team, but it remains to be seen who the final forward will be – with Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka the leading candidates.
It means Jack Grealish will likely start from the bench, alongside Mason Mount. The Chelsea star would have started, but his isolation after he and Ben Chilwell came into close contact with covid-positive Billy Gilmour means it’s now unlikely.
England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Aarom Ramsdale (Sheffield United).
Defenders: Ben White (Brighton), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds), Declan Rice (West Ham).
Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Man City).
Germany
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Bernd Leno (Arsenal), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt).
Defenders: Robin Koch (Leeds), Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea), Marcel Halstenberg (RB Leipzig), Lukas Klostermann (RB Leipzig), Christian Gunter (SC Freiburg), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Robin Gosens (Atalanta), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Monchengladbach), Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich).
Midfielders: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (Chelsea), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Emre Can (Borussia Dortmund), Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Monchengladbach), Florian Neuhaus (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich).
Forwards: Kevin Volland (Monaco), Timo Werner (Chelsea), Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich).
England vs Germany: The odds
Harry Kane is under pressure, having failed to score in any of England’s three games to date
Though it may make the fans feel slightly uneasy, it’s England who come into the mammoth fixture as the marginal favourites among the bookies.
England are favoured at 4/5 to prevail, while Germany are the underdogs at EVS. Meanwhile, a draw after 90 minutes is at 23/20.
*Odds as per Betfair and correct at the time of publication.