CHEEKY Germany have taunted England already ahead of next week’s clash by tweeting ‘it’s coming home’.
The Three Lions faced a nervous wait later yesterday to find out their last-16 opponents of Euro 2020 after winning Group D by beating Czech Republic on Tuesday.
Following a rollercoaster climax to Group F, Germany secured third spot with a dramatic 2-2 draw with Hungary to set-up the crunch date with England.
And Germany could not resist stoking up the rivalry between the two nations as the countdown begins to the mouthwatering match.
Their FA’s official national team account tweeted: “Es kommt nach Hause… It’s @England in the last 16 in Wembley.”
That first part translates to ‘it’s coming home’ and refers to the hit song made famous at Euro 96 ‘Football’s Coming Home’.
But it is not the first time that the track by Baddiel and Skinner has been adopted by Germans.
In fact, that very summer 25 years ago after Germany defeated England on penalties in the semi-final and went on to win the tournament, their national team celebrated their success with a rendition of their own.
Former German captain Jurgen Klinsmann told the Guardian: “I pulled my calf muscle in the quarter-final against Croatia.
“It forced me to watch the semi-final [against England] from the stands and that is why I can talk about the atmosphere – the whole stadium erupted and were singing Football’s Coming Home.
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“It gave you chills; it didn’t matter whether you were English or German. That was unforgettable.
“We loved that song and we sang it throughout the tournament.
“We sang it on the balcony in Frankfurt after the final and the crowd didn’t really get it, but it became very popular in Germany after that.”
The two old rivals met in arguably the old Wembley’s most famous-ever occasion, when England beat Germany in the 1966 World Cup final.
And now Gareth Southgate’s side will have the chance to make history at the new version of England’s famous national stadium.
The Three Lions boss can also help erase painful memories of Euro 96, during which he infamously missed the crucial penalty as his side crashed out to the Germans in the semi-finals.
Not to mention painful defeats in the quarters in 1970, on penalties in Italia 90… and Frank Lampard’s ghost goal in 2010.
Should they get through, England could enjoy a dream route to the final.
With victory over the Germans, the Three Lions would face a quarter-final against either the Group E winners Sweden or third-place lucky losers Ukraine.
Then in the semis, England are in the same half of the draw as Wales – with a potential clash in front of 60,000 fans at Wembley on July 7.
The Welsh play Denmark in Amsterdam on Saturday in their last-16 clash.
The winners of that will face either Holland or England’s group rivals the Czechs in the quarters.
That leaves favourites France in the other half of the draw, along with giants Portugal, Belgium, Italy and Spain.
If all goes well, England could be facing one of them at the end of the glorious summer, in the final at Wembley on July 11.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
