That 1930 was so, so long ago. And everything has changed since then except for the rivalry that kickstarted 92 years ago. The Three Lions and Die Mannschaft have been each other’s greatest rivals in international football, regardless of the country’s name and social or political issues between the two.Goal-starved England eaten alive by HungaryAs many as 33 times they have met since that May 1930, and tonight we’ll enjoy the 34th chapter of that never-ending story. The story is embellished with that notorious Geoff Hurst’s controversial goal in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final, 1990 semifinal’s penalty drama, 2001 WC Qualifiers that ended in England trashing the hosts 5-1… and so on, and so on.On this day in 1966 England won the World Cup, beating West Germany 4-2 at Wembley in front of 96,924.Captained by Bobby Moore (West Ham), England’s goals were scored by Geoff Hurst (West Ham) and Martin Peters (West Ham).pic.twitter.com/FAlWQLVlQk— VINNYWHUFC (@vinnywhufc) July 30, 2021 But tonight is a whole different story. It’s a UEFA Nations League clash with both sides not having much to lose in the maiden game of this year’s edition of the youngest European competition. That’s why tensions should not be so high, as sides meet at the Allianz Arena with the Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate looking to repeat last year’s performance and victory (2-0) against the Germans.Gareth Southgate extends with England, will earn 753 million a year”We’ve got clarity. It’s not that we are not very clear on what our best team would be. We know if we are playing a World Cup tomorrow what team we would be picking.”But I think we have also got to find out about people like Jude Bellingham at this sort of time. Give him experiences because we could get to the finals and find that we have got key players missing. So we need that balance, “states Southgate.Jamal Musiala – ‘Bambi’ in Bayern’s midfieldOn the other hand, Germany star Jamal Musiala admits he is ‘desperate’ to impress manager Hansi Flick ahead of their Nations League clash against England – having rejected the chance to play for the Three Lions.The 19-year-old was born in Stuttgart to a German mother and British father and was raised in the UK – later playing for Southampton and Chelsea’s youth sides. But in 2019, he returned to his home country and joined Bayern Munich – where he has made a real name for himself and became a regular member of the first team.”I’m desperate to perform well and make myself part of that squad – my first World Cup would be an amazing feeling,” he told the BBC.”I want to take it up a notch, more physicality, stamina, get into better goalscoring positions and defensive discipline.”Hansi Flick’s style of play with Germany is more aggressive than it was when he was at Bayern. We want to win the ball back high up the pitch to start attacks. It also means the opposition are further away from goal. We practise our high pressing a lot in training.”UEFA NATIONS LEAGUELEAGUE A, ROUND 1SaturdayHungary – England 1-0 (0-0)/Szoboszlai 66 pen/Italy – Germany 1-1 (0-0)/Pellegrini 70 – Kimmich 73/SundayCzech R. – Spain 2-2 (1-1)/Pesek 4, Kuchta 66 – Gavi 45+3, Martinez 90/Portugal – Switzerland 4-0 (3-0)/Carvalho 15, Ronaldo 35, 40, Cancelo 69/MondayCroatia – France 1-1 (0-0)/Kramaric 83 – Rabiot 52/Austria – Denmark 1-2 (0-1)/Schlager 67 – Hojbjerg 28, Stryger Larsen 84/Tuesday21.45: (2.50) Germany (3.20) England (3.15)21.45: (1.32) Italy (5.40) Hungary (12.0)Wednesday21.45: (5.20) Wales (3.60) Netherlands (1.80)21.45: (1.65) Belgium (3.80) Poland (6.25)***odds are subject to change
