Beckenbauer in new rant against ‘stupid’ England

So the headline in todays Daily Mail reads, it’s more than a little inflammatory, but this is a big game between two teams with history, a lot of history.

The actual quote was ‘Stupidly, the English have slipped up by finishing second in their group. A game like this against Germany should be a semi-final, not a last-16 tie.’

I’m not disagreeing with Der Kaiser about this being a big game that would be fitting for a semi-final, but it’s not. If Germany (like England) believe they can go far in this tournament, then the road goes through England.

I hope the game lives up to expectations, the sports pages of the British papers are certainly not disappointing. I’ve said before that I love the red tops, the news parts are often unreadable garbage, but they have some of the finest and most knowledgeable sports writers in the business.

I doubt there are any English supporters that need reminding, but here is a link to the video of that night in Munich that shows just how good England can be (and a little of the history behind this fixture).