Switzerland players celebrate their win over France in Bucharest England can avenge decades of hurt at the hands of Germany when they face their old rivals in a blockbuster Euro 2020 last-16 clash on Tuesday after the tournament was rocked by France’s stunning exit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gareth Southgate’s side host Germany at Wembley at 1600 GMT in what is England’s biggest match on home turf for 25 years.<\/p>\n

England beat the Germans to win the 1966 World Cup final, but their major tournament history has been littered with painful exits against them since then.<\/p>\n

A quarter-final loss at the 1970 World Cup ended England’s reign as champions, while the 1990 World Cup semi-final defeat on penalties is still etched in the nation’s psyche.
\nWhen England last played at home in a tournament, Southgate was the Euro 96 fall guy as he missed a crucial penalty in the semi-final shoot-out defeat.<\/p>\n

There was also a heavy defeat at the 2010 World Cup yet Southgate, aware of the debilitating weight of that history, insists the tie is not a chance to exorcise the ghosts of past England failures.<\/p>\n

Instead, he believes it is a chance for his players to add a memorable new chapter to their personal stories.<\/p>\n

“This team, I’ve said for a long time, have had so many unique achievements and my focus is on this team and helping them to succeed,” Southgate said.<\/p>\n

\n
• “This is about our players. This is their moment and it’s their opportunity.”<\/strong>
  \nAsked if perhaps his Euro 96 pain would give his players extra motivation to win it for him, Southgate said: “Good grief, no. I don’t think we’ll be relying on that!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  “So, no, this is about them. This is about them having a chance to achieve something, and certainly not for me to take any shine off of that.”<\/p>\n

  England have never won the European Championship and a victory against Germany would be only their second knockout stage win in the history of the competition.<\/p>\n

  In contrast, Germany have been crowned kings of Europe three times, with the most recent success coming in 1996.<\/p>\n

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  However, Germany travelled to London in the unusual position of fearing defeat against England.
  \nJoachim Loew’s team stumbled into the last 16 after rescuing a 2-2 draw against Hungary in their final group game.<\/p>\n

  Germany are not the intimidating force of old and, with Loew stepping down at the end of the tournament, a defeat would signal the end of an era.<\/p>\n

  Despite winning the World Cup in 2014, Loew has been criticised for his role in a humiliating group-stage exit from the 2018 World Cup and a series of poor results before the Euro.<\/p>\n

  “All in all, I thought about it for two seconds,” said Loew ahead of potentially his last game.<\/p>\n

  “This is my passion. My whole focus is on the match and I hope we will succeed.”
  \nEngland will have the vast majority of a 40,000 crowd on their side at Wembley and Loew expects a spine-tingling encounter.<\/p>\n

  “This is a match which electrifies everybody. For both teams, it’s in or out, it’s now or never, the loser goes home,” he said.<\/p>\n

  The winner will face a quarter-final in Rome against the winner of Tuesday’s late tie between Sweden and Ukraine, which will be played in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

  Whatever happens on Tuesday it will struggle to live up to the drama of Monday, when world champions France suffered a stunning defeat against Switzerland, losing 5-4 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw in Bucharest as Kylian Mbappe missed the vital kick.<\/p>\n

  France trailed to Haris Seferovic’s first-half header and could have fallen further behind when Ricardo Rodriguez’s 55th-minute penalty was saved by Hugo Lloris.
  \nEngland will have the vast majority of a 40,000 crowd on their side at Wembley and Loew expects a spine-tingling encounter.<\/p>\n

  “This is a match which electrifies everybody. For both teams, it’s in or out, it’s now or never, the loser goes home,” he said.<\/p>\n

  The winner will face a quarter-final in Rome against the winner of Tuesday’s late tie between Sweden and Ukraine, which will be played in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

  Whatever happens on Tuesday it will struggle to live up to the drama of Monday, when world champions France suffered a stunning defeat against Switzerland, losing 5-4 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw in Bucharest as Kylian Mbappe missed the vital kick.<\/p>\n

  France trailed to Haris Seferovic’s first-half header and could have fallen further behind when Ricardo Rodriguez’s 55th-minute penalty was saved by Hugo Lloris.
  \nKarim Benzema scored twice in 244 seconds immediately after that miss to put France ahead.<\/p>\n

  Paul Pogba increased their lead with a stunning strike, but Seferovic struck again in the 81st minute and Mario Gavranovic equalised in stoppage time.<\/p>\n

  Yann Sommer was Switzerland’s hero in the shootout as the goalkeeper saved Mbappe’s penalty to seal an incredible giant-killing.<\/p>\n

  “Penalties are always cruel for one team and unfortunately it was us,” said France coach Didier Deschamps.<\/p>\n

  “We are not used to it, but we will have to accept it.”
  \nIn the quarter-finals, Switzerland face Spain, who hit back for an epic 5-3 extra-time win against Croatia after blowing the lead in Copenhagen.<\/p>\n

  Pablo Sarabia, Cesar Azpilicueta and Ferran Torres netted to put Spain 3-1 ahead with 13 minutes left after Pedri’s own goal had given Croatia the lead.<\/p>\n

  Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic scored in the last five minutes to force extra time, but Spain prevailed thanks to goals from Alvaro Morata and Mikel Oyarzabal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Switzerland players celebrate their win over France in Bucharest England can avenge decades of hurt at the hands of Germany when they face their old rivals in a blockbuster Euro 2020 last-16 clash on Tuesday after the tournament was rocked by France’s stunning exit. Gareth Southgate’s side host Germany at Wembley at 1600 GMT in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13],"tags":[976,1591,385,43,1958,1153],"class_list":["post-3014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-sports","tag-england","tag-european-championship","tag-germany","tag-nigeria-21","tag-southgate","tag-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"\n