England vs Germany promises plenty of drama and tension

It’s that time again. England are in the knockout stages of a major tournament and, what’s more, they’re playing Germany, with a place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 at stake.

An England knockout game scarcely needs more hype – the 55 years of hurt and counting tend to drum up enough tension before the talking and writing even begin – but the Germans, and a reunion of one of the great footballing rivalries, is a little bit special, even by Three Lions standards.

Talk in the build-up to tonight’s game has been rife with references to 1966, 1990 and Euro 96, to World Cup hat-tricks and missed penalties – oh, so many missed penalties.

What is often missed is that Germany actually consider the Netherlands and Italy bigger rivals (on account of England too often not being good enough to match them), and that the players of today, yet to be scarred by their own moment of misery at German hands, really do seem to see it as just another game.

Gareth Southgate knows the pain, of course, and his own career low – from 25 years ago – will be played over and over between now and kick-off. I’m sure that, for the England manager, the game itself can’t come quickly enough; and for journalists it is much the same.

A big game is what you get into the industry for, with the gravity of a match like this bringing out the best in all writers. Our live coverage will again be expected to lead the way. What will we be writing about in a few short hours? Will it be a Paul Gascoigne-esque miss or a Chris Waddle-style shank that decides it all? Or will it be another moment of Geoff Hurst-era magic that sees England over the line? We just don’t know.

While there is lots of preparation to be done before you cover any big game, so much of the drama that is yet to come can’t be planned for. That’s the beauty of it. The England players and those covering them can’t wait.

Yours,

Ben Burrows

Sports editor