England and Germany are two soccer teams that have met numerous times. This largely includes friendly games between the two teams. They have also met in quite a few competitive games; the first of which was the World Cup final between England and Germany in 1966. So, it seems fitting to begin the history of England vs Germany games there.
Undoubtedly, this game was England’s finest victory. For Germany, it was a bitter defeat, particularly given the controversy surrounding one of England’s goals. The key player in this match was Geoff Hurst, who scored three of England’s four goals, which effectively won the 1966 World Cup. It was also a first World Cup hat-trick in the final. Germany disputed the first extra-time goal as the ball might not have crossed the goal line. Still, England won the game 4-2 and, with that, the World Cup.
England and Germany would face off again in the 1970 World Cup. England started this game well and were two goals up in the second half. Beckenbauer would pull one back for Germany, and then a second German goal pulled the game level. As in 1966, the game went into extra-time, but this time, the German Muller scored the third and decisive goal to see Germany progress into the semi-finals.
In 1972, England and Germany met twice in the second qualifying stage for Euro 72. The deciding game came at Wembley, which the Germans won 3-1, to give them a good advantage for the return leg. Here, they played out a 0-0 draw, enough to see the Germans qualify for the European Championships.
England and Germany made good progress from their opening groups of the 1982 football World Cup. Then, in the second round, they were drawn into the same group. When they played, the game had no goals and ended as a 0-0 draw. This left both teams needing to beat Spain to have a good chance of going through. Germany did this, while England could only draw, so the group finished with Germany top.
The next England vs Germany World Cup matchup was at Italia 90. England and Germany had made it to the semi-finals and played each other for a place in the final. Germany went in front, although a Linekar equalizer brought the game level. Extra time followed, in which both teams had chances, and hit the post, but could not get the winning goal. A penalty shoot-out decided the game, which Germany won.
There were shades of 1966, as England played a united German team for a place in the final of Euro 96. For this game, England had a home advantage, and even went one up thanks to Shearer’s goal. Germany would equalize, and the game remained level up to 90 minutes and in extra time. Penalties also decided this match, with Germany winning the shoot-out again.
England and Germany met again in the Euro 2000 group stages. In the event, England won the game 1-0 to give them the advantage in the group, and was England’s first competitive win against the Germans since 1966. Neither team had much impact in Euro 2000 as England lost their following group game to go out in the group stages, along with Germany.
For the 2002 football World Cup, England and Germany were in the same qualifying group. Each team secured a victory. The first was the last game played at Wembley, which Germany won 1-0. England was not to be denied, and Munich thrashed the Germans 5-1 to go top of the World Cup qualifier table. With such a victory, England would finish top of the group, while Germany would finish second and still qualify for the World Cup.
England played Germany in the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Germany went two goals up in the first half, but an Upson header pulled one back for England. Lampard scored a perfectly valid second goal that bounced off the crossbar and clearly over the goal line. Without goal-line technology, the referee ruled out that goal, and the first half ended 2-1 for Germany.
The Germans took a firm grip on the match in the second half. Müller scored twice to make the final score Germany 4 England 1. This match is England’s heaviest defeat in a World Cup finals match.
A rejuvenated England played a German side in decline in the second round of the rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament. A relatively even first half of this England vs Germany match ended 0-0. Sterling and Kane scored two goals for the Three Lions after the interval to make the final score England 2 Germany 0. It was England’s first win in a tournament knockout game against Germany since 1966.
The 2020 European Championship match was the most recent England vs Germany tournament game played (excluding UEFA Nations League). Overall, there have been some thrilling games between the two sides. The overall current record, including friendlies, has England with 14 wins to Germany’s 15 across 35 matches. Today, the Three Lions currently have a German manager, and the next England vs Germany match will be very interesting if played in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Tuchel in the wrong national dugout.
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