Road to Rio: England v Germany
A friendly against Germany, yes, you read that right – a friendly against Germany. A statement that doesn’t really sit right for football fans in England, as we all know that contests between these two countries are rarely friendly.
England suffered two penalty shoot-out defeats in a row to the Germans in 1990 and 1996, before managing a fantastic 5-1 victory in Munich, only for this to be wiped from memories with a heart-breaking 4-1 defeat against them in the last World Cup. Fans may blame the lack of goal-line technology, but in truth the two teams were worlds apart that day. England fans will hope that isn’t the case tonight, after a disappointing display on Friday against Chile a much-needed confidence booster would be great, and who better for this to come against than one of our fiercest rivals?
Steven Gerrard will return to captain England, earning his 108th cap, equalling Bobby Moore’s record, whilst Joe Hart returns in goal after some doubts in his recent form. Roy Hodgson appears to know the eight defenders who he will take with him to Rio next summer, but it’s further up the pitch where big decisions will have to be made. And with only 2 games before he names his provisional squad, tonight is an important game for those looking to impress. But that won’t be easy, with Germany’s quality and organisation under Joachim Low, England are going to have to be at their very best to come away with a positive result, despite the fact that Germany are resting a number of key players.
With the number of players looking to impress on either side in a bid to be well prepared for the World Cup next summer in the hope of winning the most prestigious football trophy, we’re predicting a highly entertaining game tonight. With 24 goals having been scored in Germany’s last 5 friendlies, we’re expecting lots of goals, with England soaking up the pressure early on and growing in to the game gradually. Hopefully, with Rooney, Sturridge and Townsend in attack, they will have just enough to edge past Germany and prove that there is hope for next summers tournament.