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History

Germany v England: A Primer

June 24, 2010 — by Sean10

England and Germany have played one another for more than a century, but it was only after WWII that the tensions really showed. The origins of the bad blood do in fact reach back before the conflict, to the rise of the Nazi party and a friendly played in Berlin before 100,000 fans. The English squad were given commands to perform a Nazi salute before the game, which they did, at the time not particularly caring one way or another. Looking back, it’s a sure sore spot. By the by, that 1938 matchup ended in a win for the lions.

War and interim friendlies aside, we come to the World Cup final of 1966, played in Wembley between England and the newish West Germany.