WORLD CUP: England v Germany rivalry hots up (From News Shopper)

WORLD CUP: England v Germany rivalry hots up

12:21pm Friday 25th June 2010 in Football By Michael Purton

ENGLAND vs Germany, perhaps the most heated rivalry in football history, continues on Sunday and across the News Shopper area people are preparing themselves for the big match.

The latest round of this long-running grudge takes place at 3pm in Bloemfontein, South Africa, but the tension will be felt in pubs and homes across south-east London and north Kent as the Three Lions vie for a place in the World Cup quarter-final.

In Bromley the game has even more significance as the town is twinned with Neuwied in Germany.

A Bromley police spokesman said officers were prepared for any trouble among supporters watching the game in the borough.

He said: “We are prepared for any contingency, but we are not expecting any trouble, just wild celebration.”

Unfortunately, when England play Germany it's usually the Germans who are wildly celebrating afterwards, but - like we say at every World Cup - this time it could be our year.

Where will you be watching the match? What score are you predicting? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

England vs Germany - a brief history:

• The first encounter on record was a 13-2 victory for England in Berlin on November 23, 1899.
• During the First World War an unofficial ceasefire was announced on Christmas Day 1914, and British and German troops left the trenches and played football with each other.
• The first ever full international between the two teams was a friendly match played on May 10, 1930, in Berlin, with the teams drawing 3-3.
• The most famous game between the two nations is, of course, the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley, which England won 4-2, thanks to a Geoff Hurst hat-trick.
• At the next World Cup, in Mexico in 1970, the Germans had their revenge, winning a quarter-final tie 3-2 after extra-time.
• Germany got more revenge for 1966 at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, knocking England out in the semi-final via penalties before going on to win the final.
• The German dominance continued at Euro 96, when they again beat England on penalties in the semi-final, taking away our chance of lifting another major trophy on home soil.
• England turned the tables on the Germans in the group stage of Euro 2000, sneaking a 1-0 victory, however we failed to go on and make an impact at the tournament.
• The old enemies were drawn together in a qualifying group for the 2002 World Cup, with contrasting results. Germany won 1-0 at Wembley, but England famously won 5-1 in Germany.
• There have been two friendly games since 2002, with a win apiece, but Sunday’s World Cup encounter will be the first competitive match between the two rivals for eight years.