Report, reaction and more
Gareth Southgate speaks ...
“I just thought it was a brilliant afternoon,” says England’s manager in a chat with the Beeb. “We talked about bringing enjoyment to the nation and afternoon’s like that are what it’s all about. The players were absolutely immense right through the team. The fans were as well - only 40,000 but it was as good an atmosphere as I can remember in Wembley. We played exteremely well, I think we deserved the win but I’ve had to say to them straight away “Look, I’m the party pooper, because if we don’t capitalise on Saturday now then it doesn’t count for anything.”
On today’s line-up: “You know you change the shape, you pick certain personnel in place of others and if it goes wrong you’re dead. We had to go about it in the way we believed. We wanted aggressive pressure all over the field and we felt that to match them up was the right way of doing that. We felt that speed in behind Harry would cause them problems. I thought that Bukayo and Raheem really created that jepoardy in behind their backline right from the start. We also defended brilliantly and our goalkeeper was immense. It was a tremendous performance.”
More from Declan Rice ...
“Raheem Sterling is proving so many people wrong, scoring so many goals,” he says of the scorer of England’s opener. “Harry Kane is made for the big occasion and scored the goal that put the game to bed.
“We don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves but it a massive game in Rome on Saturday. For today, the occasion, the fans, the players that were up for it. The dressing room, I have not been a part of a team with this togetherness. We really believe, with the tournament being at Wembley.”
Harry Maguire speaks ...
“It’s a magnificent moment for myself, the team, the fans,” he says. “It’s been a tough couple of years for everyone in this country so to put smiles back on faces, at home and here in the stadium, is to enjoy a great moment, a feeling. We’re not done with it yet, though because we’ve got another big game on Saturday.”
Match report: England 2-0 Germany
David Hytner was at Wembley in his role for the Guardian and here’s how he saw a monumental victory over Germany unfold.
Declan Rice speaks ...
“It’s incredible,” he tells the BBC. “If you look at the group stages, a lot of people had written us off: complaints about the performances ... not scoring enough goals. You read a load of things but as players you put them to the back of your mind but you want to prove people wrong. I think today wqith a full house, everybody had that fire in their belly to go out there and for one, knock Germany out of the tournament and two, for us to progress to the next round.
“It’s history. In the press conferences all week players have been asked about past games with Germany but we’ve created our own little bit of history today. We’ve made the most of our opportunity today and it was a pleasure to be out there on the pitch.”
Raheem Sterling speaks ...
“We knew we needed to put a big performance in against a very good German side and I thought we done that today,” he tells the BBC. “Scoring for your country is always special and it’s definitely a special moment for me.
“I celebrated and for half a second I thought ‘Don’t let it be offside’. I’m really happy it went in and I’m really happy we got the win.” He goes on to pay tribute to an all round great team performance, singling out Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips (whose name he struggles to remember!) for the manner in which they were “eating up the ground”.
An email: “I wonder what Jose Mourinho will have to say about Luke Shaw now,” asks David Wall, after the former Manchester United manager was heard obsessing about the England full-back earlier this week. Shaw looked a little out of his depth in the first half but was instrumental in both goals.
He provided the inch-perfect cross for Sterling’s opener and did the leg work for the second goal too, winning the ball on the halfway line, driving forward through the centre and playing it wide to Grealish, who crossed to Harry Kane.
Post-match: England’s players are celebrating wildly with each other and the exultant, overjoyed Wembley crowd as they embark on a lap of honour. Gareth Southgate applauds the fans and receives a massive cheer in return. That’s a statement win from England whose patience this evening paid great dividends.
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Full time at Wembley: England 2-0 Germany
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeep! It’s all over at Wembley, where England have beaten Germany in a knockout game for the first time since 1966. Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane got the goals that have earned them a quarter-final berth against Ukraine or Sweden in Rome on Saturday night.
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90+4 min: Germany are throwing the kitchen sink at England, dropping high balls into their penalty area. England are clearing them all comfortably. It’s all over, England have won!
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90+3 min: We’re in the penultimate minute of added time and England are set fair to advance to the quarter-finals on the back of their fourth consecutive clean sheet in this tournament.
90+2 min: German substitution: former England Under-21 Jamal Musiala on for Thomas Muller.
90+1 min: Goretzka drills a low diagonal ball across the face of the England goal. Havertz stretches but can’t connect.
90 min: A Goretzka shot from the edge of the England penalty area ricochets wide off Kai Havertz, who is unable to move his feet quickly enough to steer the ball goalwards.
89 min: The jig looks well and truly up for Germany, whose manager Jogi Low has announced he’ll be quitting once their interest in this tournament has ended.
88 min: German double-substitution: Leroy Sane and Emre Can on for Robin Gosens and Matthias Ginter.
88 min: England substitution: Jordan Henderson on for Declan Rice.
87 min: Shaw advanced from midfield, charging forward and played the ball wide to Grealish on the left. His low cross was headed home by Kane from an almost kneeling position on the edge of the six-yard box.
GOAL! England 2-0 Germany (Kane 86)
Harry Kane scores! England’s captain converts a cross from Jack Grealish.
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83 min: As Muller, who has not had one of his better games, bore down on goal, Raheem Sterling sank to his knees in despair inside the England half. A split-second later, it was the German who was on his knees cursing his luck. You’d have bet the farm on him to score in that situation ... and you’d have lost it.
81 min: Straight through on goal with two defenders chasing him, Thomas Muller shoots wide from the edge of the penalty area. That’s an astonishing miss but hats off to Jordan Pickford for charging off his line and giving the German as little as possible to aim at.
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80 min: England’s tails are very visibly up after taking the lead. Can they hold on to or even extend it with 10 minutes plus added time left on the clock?
78 min: Muller’s free-kick is blocked by the England wall and a huge roar goes up around Wembley.
78 min: Harry Maguire is booked for a foul on Kimmich right on the edge of the England penalty area, a little right of centre.
76 min: Sterling started and finished that move, in which Kane and then Grealish played the ball out wide to Luke Shaw. His low cross was inch-perfect and Sterling slotted home from six yards.
GOAL! England 1-0 Germany (Sterling 75)
England lead! Raheem Sterling slots home from a few yards out, converting a low Luke Shaw cross after good build-up play by England.
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74 min: There’s a break in play as Kieran Trippier receives treatment. He seems to have done his groin or hamstring a mischief after taking an air shot at the ball but is apparently fit to continue.
73 min: It’s very pedestrian from both teams, who have the air about them the air of sides already resigned to extra time. This game is there for the taking, should either side wish to grab it by the scruff. Both of therm seem dominated by fear.
71 min: Gosens fouls Trippier with a late tackle and earns himself a yellow card.
70 min: Following an excellent first half, Saka struggled to make an impression in gthe first. He goes off to warm applause, while his replacement runs on to an expectant ovation. No pressure, lad.
68 min: Germany substitution: Serge Gnabry on for Timo Werner. England substitution: Jack Grealish on for Bukayo Saka.
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67 min: A Kimmich delivery from deep into the England penalty area is caught by Pickford.
66 min: Saka is rather harshly penalised for a foul on Rudiger near the edge of the German penalty area. Free-kick.
65 min: Timo Werner pulls the ball acrossd the England penalty area but there’s nobody on hand to connect with it. England break upfield with Sterling on the ball. There’s absolutely nobody up to support him but he’s fouled just inside the German half and wins England a free-kick.
64 min: Under no pressure whatsoever, Jordan Pickford pings a clearance straight out of play for a German throw-in. Sloppy.
62 min: A speculative cross-shot from Sterling towards Harry Kane is grabbed comfortably by Neuer.
61 min: Trippier picks up the ball on the right flank put his poor cross fails to clear the first man in the form of Antonio Rudiger.
60 min: Already on a yellow card, Ginter collides with Saka and the England winger goes down holding his knee. He’s OK. It was an accidental collision, not a foul.
58 min: Germany are dominating as we approach the hour mark but have yet to create a chance of note in this half beyond the Kai Havertz surface to air screamer that was saved by Pickford.
56 min: Germany stretch England and attack down the right. Havertz finds Werner in the England penalty area but John Stones doesn’t give him an inch. A corner for Germany. England clear.
55 min: Kane passes himself fit to continue and play resumes.
53 min: Mats Hummels sportingly puts the ball out of play so Harry Kane can receive treatment after taking a knock to his knee as the duo contested a high ball. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, it should be noted, is not in the England matchday squad.
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52 min: A rendition of “Football’s Coming Home” rings around Wembley stadium, as Germany sidle forward tentatively.They get the ball into the England penalty area, where Pickford jumps higher than Gosens and punches clear.
51 min: England throw-in, deep in Germany territory. Kyle Walker hurls it long into the Germany penalty area but it’s headed clear.
50 min: That was a wonderful shot by Havertz, who showed great technique as he caught the sweet spot of the ball with the outside of his left boot.
49 min: From the edge of the England box, Kai Havertz swings his boot at a bouncing ball that was cleared his way. It’s a terrific rising drive which Jordan Pickford does well to palm over the bar. Nothing comes of the corner.
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48 min: Germany build from the back, pinging the ball over and back across the halfway line.
47 min: Phillips wins the ball from Timo Werner in midfield as the striker tried to lay it off to Kai Havertz.
Second half: England 0-0 Germany
46 min: Raheem Sterling gets the ball rolling for England with no changes in personnel on either side so far.
So…it’s been a while since we were here for this particular fixture. #ENGGER pic.twitter.com/MQlidmL1b0
— David Baddiel (@Baddiel) June 29, 2021
Shearer is hammering Kane. Not unfairly, but it’s a shame he is so off it.
— John Brewin (@JohnBrewin_) June 29, 2021
Analysis: “That Kane miss at the end of the half is like a parody of Gascoigne not reaching the ball in 1996,” writes Kari Tulinius. “He had the goal at his mercy but moved about as fast as a turtle who can’t be bothered to eat one more lettuce leaf.”
A harsh assessment but a pretty fair one. Kane had just nine touches of the ball in that half and has contributed little or nothing to England’s cause. He doesn’t look fit and that miss just before the break suggest he’s low on confidence too.
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Half-time: England 0-0 Germany
Peep! A tense, cagey, tight 45 minutes of football draws to a close. Chances have been at a premium but Timo Werner missed the pick of Germany’s, while Harry Kane should have fired England ahead just before half-time. He took a touch too many when through on goal at the edge of the German six-yard box and missed an absolute sitter.
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45+1 min: A dreadful pass by Thomas Muller is intercepted by Sterling, who advances through the centre. He charges forwards and is tackled on the edge of the Germany penalty area. The ball squirts towards Kane, who looks like he can’t miss ... but Mats Hummels sticks out a leg and relieves him of possession as he tries to take the ball around Neuer. That was close!
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45 min: Kalvin Phillips gets booked for a meaty challenge on Toni Kroos. Both England’s holding midfielders are on yellow cards.
43 min: Trippier takes a quick one and tries to stand the ball up at the far post for Kane but Mats Hummels is alert to the danger and gets to it first. It’s a corner for England, which Hummels clears with another good header.
42 min: Goretzka trips Kane and England have a free-kick in a good position about 30 yards from the Germany goal. It’s almost in line with the left edge of the Germany penalty area.
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40 min: Kane drops deep to midfield and plays a high ball through the centre for Phillips to chase. He’s not quick enough to reach it and Germany clear. Reverse the roles in that scenario and it could have been an entirely different story.
39 min: While tense and extremely absorbing, this game is not a patch on either of yesterday’s swashbuckling Round of 16 affairs in terms of entertainment. Germany have had the best chance of the game so far but there’s very little in it.
38 min: Bukayo Saka has been England’s standout player so far and he gets on the ball again out by the right touchline. He finds Phillips with a neat reverse pass but the midfielder’s attempted pull-back to Kane in the penalty area is intercepted.
36 min: England throw-in, halfway inside the Germany half. Luke Shaw takes it and gives Harry Kane a rare touch of the ball.
35 min: Possession stats: England 52%-48% Germany.
33 min: Some admin: Declan Rice is on a yellow card after being booked for that earlier foul on Goretzka around the eight-minute mark. Apologies, I thought he’d been spared a yellow card.
32 min: Save! Jordan Pickford blocks at the feet of Timo Werner at the ede of his six-yard box as the German striker ran on to a through ball from Havertz and tried to find the far corner.
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31 min: Chance! Under pressure from Trippier and Walker, Gosens narrowly misses making contact with an excellent Kimmich cross to the far post.
30 min: Sterling keeps the ball in play down by the left touchline and sends a cross into the Germany penalty area. It’s cleared by Mats Hummels.
28 min: Harry Maguire tries to take the ball out of defence and is fouled by Havertz. On his knees on the ground, the England defender gives Jordan Pickford a rocket for not being in a position where he could pass the ball back to him.
27 min: Chance! A great ball into the channel by Phillips is collected by Trippier, who sends a cross into the Germany penalty area. Harry Maguire wins a free header but sends the ball high and wide.
26 min: Trippier whips the free-kick into the German penalty area and the ball’s put out for a corner by Joshua Kimmich. Germany clear the subsequent inswinger at the near post.
25 min: Shaw is fouled by Matthias Ginter and England have a free-kick wide on the left. Ginter was bang to rights but complained vociferously and got a booking for dissent.
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24 min: Shaw sends the ball towards the far post, where Stones tries to attack it. Under pressure from his marker he doesn’t connect cleanly and Germany clear.
23 min: Saka is caught late by Goretzka to win England a free-kick wide on the left in line with the left edge of the German penalty area.
22 min: England win a throw-in deep in Germany territory. Luke Shaw chcuks the ball down the wing to Sterling, who is unable to prevent it rolling out for a German goal-kick.
20 min: England enjoy a spell of possession without doing much with the ball. A slow, meandering build-up ends when Kieran Trippier is caught offside down by the right touchline as he receives a pass from Kyle Walker.
18 min: Maguire robs Muller of possession in the England half but a promising counter-attack breaks down within seconds. It’s quite a tense affair, unsurprisingly.
17 min: Harry Maguire connects with the delivery from the corner flag but heads the ball straight into Neuer’s gloves.
16 min: From a central position, Raheem Sterling tries to curl one inside the right upright from distance. Manuel Neuer flings himself to his left to put the ball out for a corner. A good shot and a good save.
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15 min: Saka makes another run down the right touchline and wins a throw-in for England deep in German territory.
14 min: Stones gets his head to the inswinger at the far post and sends the ball across the face of goal but Germany clear their lines.
13 min: Bukayo Saka is bodychecked by Antonio Rudiger down near the corner flag. Free-kick for England.
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11 min: Over 10 minutes in and Germany have definitely settled the better despite the hostile Wembley atmosphere. No chances of note for either side so far.
10 min: Kai Havertz smashes the ball into England’s defensive wall. Declan Rice with the block there.
9 min: Germany free-kick, almost dead-centre on the edge of the England area.
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8 min: Pickford rushes out of his penalty area under pressure from Muller but Sterling can’t control it. Germany break upfield with Goretzka on the ball and Declan Rice fouls him on the edge of the England penalty area. Free-kick for Germany in a very dangerous position.
7 min: Muller, Kroos and Gosens pass the ball hither and yon across the edge of the final third, probing for an opening. They don’t find one and England clear their lines.
5 min: Antonio Rudiger thumps a Jordan Pickford kick-out back from where it came with a meaty header. Germany are slightly in the ascendency in these very early stages.
4 min: Goretzka shoots feebly from outside the England penalty area and Jordan Pickford gathers the bouncing ball comfortably.
3 min: Germany play the ball out from theback, with Declan Rice pressing Leon Goretzka on the edge of his own penalty area. Germany beat the press and get the ball upfield, where Joshua Kimmich’s teasing cross to the far post is put out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set-piece.
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2 min: Thomas Muller is penalised for a nudge on Harry Maguire and England have a free-kick from deep, a third of the way inside the German half. Luke Shaw’s delivery to the German penalty area is headed clear.
England v Germany is go ...
1 min: The players take a knee, with the sadly inevitable boos quickly drowned out by applause. After all the build-up, the time for talking is over!
England’s anthem: It’s a rousing rendition of God Save The Queen and we’re just an exchange of pennants, a coin-toss, some fist-bumping, a collective knee and a peep of the referee’s whistle away from kick-off.
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Not long now ...
The teams are in the tunnel, where Kai Havertz is doing some vigorous knee-stretching and Harry Kane is adjusting the tops of his socks. Dutch referee Danny Makkelie leads them out out on to the pitch, with Kane leading England out first. Manuel Neuer and his German teammates follow. Both sets of players line up either side of the team of match officials and stand tall for the national anthems. First up it’s Germany’s, which is booed relentlessly by many in the half-capacity crowd.
Gareth Southgate speaks ...
“The past means great excitement for everybody,” he tells the BBC reporter Kelly Somers. “It’s great nostalgia but this team are about making their own stories over the past four years and they have another chance to do that tonight.
On going with a back three: “The teams German y have already played have had big problems with the overloads of their wing-backs. We’ve got to deal with that but then we’ve also got to cause them problems with our system. Our focus has been as much with the ball as it has been without it this week. We did know that the tactical problem in our defending third of the field is one we had to resolve.”
An email: “Where does the British public, in defiance of all the evidence, get this idea that selecting attacking teams invariably gives the best chance of winning football matches?!” asks John. “So long as we select our best player – Saka – we won’t lose on account of the team chosen.”
Personally, I don’t care what team Southgate picks but am of a mind that this seems quite a meek approach and that if you have outstanding players at your disposal you should use them. If only there was some way of definitively finding out whether or not Gareth has made the right decision in picking this team to take on Germany, eh?
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An email: “I’m not sure that line-up is necessarily ludicrously defensive,” writes Patrick. “I assume he’s going for pace in defence with Walker as part of a three and attacking threat/cover in wide positions with Trippier and Shaw plus set piece threat.
Sterling, Kane and Saka bring plenty of energy and danger, but will need to work hard for it. On paper I think it’s as good setup to play the Germans as any. It’s up to the players now to make it work.”
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Kalvin Phillips: While I wouldn’t necessarily agree with a selection that is being criticised for being excessively negative, there are a couple of points worth remembering.
Southgate has no shortage of attacking talent to call on from the bench and Kalvin Phillips is a far more potent attacking force than many give him credit for. His range of passing from deep throughout the Premier League season for Leeds was little short of outstanding.
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Some reader reaction: “The Germany team arguably has three defenders and seven attackers – ours has the opposite,” writes Rick Harris. “I think we know where most of the football will be played – in England’s half.”
“I guess the answer to the burning question: ‘How do you fit Mount, Foden, and Graelish into the same team?’ is: Don’t play any of them,” writes Shawn Grant.
“You have not been following the ‘Southgate is a moron’ twitter trend close enough,” writes Mary Waltz. “A wise choice for your mental health but here is how it will proceed. If England beat Germany the Southgate-slaggers will go to these two arguments: Germany is an old washed up squad and England won despite Southgates stupidity’.”
That England team: It’s a simultaneously cautious and bold selection from Gareth Southgate, who I suspect will get massacred by fans and the media if that ludicrously defensive team gets beaten. Of course if they win, he’ll be hailed as a genius.
England v Germany line-ups
England: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Trippier, Phillips, Rice, Shaw, Saka, Kane, Sterling.
Subs: Grealish, Henderson, Rashford, Ramsdale, Mings, Coady, Sancho, Mount, Foden, Johnstone, James, Bellingham.
Germany: Neuer, Ginter, Hummels, Rudiger, Kimmich, Kroos, Goretzka, Gosens, Havertz, Muller, Werner.
Subs: Halstenberg, Volland, Gnabry, Leno, Musiala, Sule, Neuhaus, Sane, Gundogan, Trapp, Can, Koch.
Germany team news
Antonio Rudiger and Robin Gosens start for Jogi Low, but Ilkay Gundogan is out: Neuer; Ginter, Hummels, Rudiger; Kimmich, Gosens, Kroos, Goretzka; Muller, Havertz, Werner.
England team news
The England line-up is exactly as predicted, with no place for Jack Grealish, Mason Mount or Phil Foden in the starting XI: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire; Trippier, Rice, Phillips, Shaw; Saka, Kane Sterling.
Confirmed: Frank De Boer has left his post as manager of the Netherlands after tendering his resignation. ““I have decided not to continue as national coach,” he said in a statement. “The objective has not been achieved, that is clear.”
The England Band: Arguably the most unpopular musical collective in the UK, the unloved and unwanted attention-seekers that are the England Band will be making their post-lockdown return to the international football arena this evening. It’s great news for those who love endlessly parped brass renditions of The Great Escape and Rule Britannia while trying to watch a football match, if such people actually exist.
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This just in: Reports from the Netherlands suggest that Frank De Boer has been sacked as manager of the national team following their Round of 16 exit from Euro 2020 at the hands of the Czech Republic.
Pre-match: It has been revealed that Germany’s players will take the knee along with England’s prior to kick-off, while team skippers Harry Kane and Manuel Neuer will both wear rainbow armbands to show their support for the LGBT community.
Germany's players will take the knee together with @England's players before kickoff at Wembley tonight in a show of solidarity. #ENGGER pic.twitter.com/nJwwfqNTxg
— German Embassy London (@GermanEmbassy) June 29, 2021
Football Weekly ... er, Daily
Max Rushden and I were joined by Philippe Auclair, Rory Smith and Nick Ames to discuss two thrilling games, fourteen goals, several missed penalties, goalkeeper gaffes and some very late drama on our award-winning, chart-topping podcast yesterday. You can listen to it on the Guardian Football website and if you’re not already a subscriber, sign up for free in all the usual pod places. We’ll be back tonight to pick over the bones of this game and Sweden’s match against Ukraine.
Tonight’s match officials
- Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
- Assistant referees: Hessel Steegstra and Jan de Vries (Netherlands)
- Fourth official: Srdjan Jovanović (Serbia)
- Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel (Netherlands)
Early team news
The jungle drum noises emanating from the England camp suggest Gareth Southgate is going for a belt, another belt and several pairs of braces approach to today’s game.
Rum our has it he is set to switch to a back three for the first time in this tournament, mirroring Germany’s expected 3-4-3 formation. Bukayo Saka is expected to keep his place in the side after his man of the match performance against the Czech Republic.
If these rumours from The Athletic’s David Ornstein - a well connected newshound who doesn’t get much wrong, are correct - there is unlikely to be a place for Phil Foden, Mason Mount or Jack Grealish in Gareth Southgate’s starting line-up. If he picks the team leaked to the media and it loses, he will get slaughtered.
Mount and Ben Chilwell have spent the past week training separately from the rest of the squad after being forced into quarantine following their lengthy chat with Chelsea team-mate Typhoid Billy in the immediate aftermath of the Scotland match. The duo have since been released back into polite society and are available for selection but neither is expected to start.
Germany have doubts over the availability of three key players, with Antonio Rudiger, Ilkay Gundogan and Robin Gosens all due to be assessed ahead of kick-off. Sky Sports in Germany are reporting that Gundogan will definitely be absent.
That leaked and possibly wrong (in every sense of the word) England line-up: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire; Trippier, Rice, Phillips, Shaw; Saka, Kane Sterling.
Round of 16: England v Germany
Following one of the most breathtaking days of international tournament football in living memory, the baton is passed to England and Germany as they renew hostilities at Wembley. Much has been written about their long rivalry in the build-up to this game, with many suggesting that England fans are far more obsessed with it than their German counterparts.
That may well be the case but once Dutch referee Danny Makkelie blows his whistle for the first time this evening, battles of yore will be quickly forgotten as both teams set about trying to assert their authority and dominance in the here and now. Kick-off at whgat promises to be a ludicrously tense Wembley affair is at 5pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
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