Tonight’s games in the Euro Championships 2021 will be the last of the fixtures to be played in the Round of 16. With six of the eight spots already claimed by their worthy suitors, only two spots remain to be filled.
Match 44 of this edition of the Euro Championship will witness one of football›s greatest rivalries when England face Germany at the Wembley stadium in London. The two sides have played 32 official games in the past with Germany winning 15 and England emerging winners in 13 encounters. 4 matches ended without a result.
The clock seems to have come full circle at the Wembley, where Germany edged past a star studded England, 6-5 in the penalties in the Semi Final match of Euro 1996. Andreas Köpke saved the spot kick from Gareth South Gate and dashed the hopes of a nation – the loss came in Semi Finals of the Euro 1996. In this edition England has booked their berth into the round of sixteen as Group D Toppers with 7 points from their 3 pool matches. Their opening tie against Croatia was game played out on the chequered board and England won with a solitary goal from Raheem Sterling. In what was the oldest rivalries in the history of football England were held to a goalless draw against Scotland and managed to register a one goal win against the Czech Republic with Sterling finding the opposition net once again for the three lions. With only two goals scored England are the lowest scoring team to secure a berth in the Pre Quarter Finals. But what has to be noticed is that the English defence line has not been breached even once in this tournament. Will tonight be an opportunity of redemption for Coach Gareth Southgate who missed the crucial penalty 25 years back in Euro 1996 or will the ghosts of the past continue to haunt the man in charge as the hosts England lock horns with Germany this evening at the Wembley.
Four time World Champions and 3 times European Champions Germany on the other hand have not been at their best. They emerged second best in what was pipped as the ‹group of death› behind France and ahead of defending champions Portugal. Germany›s opening game saw them losing to the Les Bleus by a solitary goal but then coming from behind to rout Portugal 4-2 and then being held to a 2-2 draw against Hungary. A lot will rest on their key players like Chelsea striker Kai Havertz, Atlanta defender Robin Gosens, Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Christoph Goretzka and the mercurial Thomas Muller. Their Talismanic goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will play a crucial role between the posts to keep out Harry Kane and a string of highly talented players who are yet to get themselves mentioned on the English scoresheet.
The last fixture before the Quarter Finals commence on 2nd July, will feature Ukraine facing off against Sweden at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Sweden opened their campaign with a draw against former World Champions Spain and then went on to beat Slovakia with a solitary goal. In their last nail-biting fixture they managed to steal a win in injury time from what seemed to be heading to a draw against Poland. Emil Forsberg has been spearheading the Swedish attack that edged past Spain and top their pool. Ukraine on the other hand, earned their place in the round of sixteen only as one of the four best 3rd placed teams and also have the credit of scoring some of the most outrageous goals of the tournament. Former great Andriy Shevchenko steps in as coach and is the driving force behind the goal scoring duo of Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk.
