2001 Germany vs England football match
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On 1 September 2001 Germany met England during the qualifying stages of the
2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
, at the
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in Munich. England won the game 5–1, helped by a hat-trick from Michael Owen.


Background


Previous meetings

The two sides had met on many important occasions. They had played in the
1966 World Cup Final The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a association football, football match played at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was conte ...
at Wembley Stadium, in which England had beaten West Germany 4–2 after
extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
. Four years later, in the quarter-final of the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, England failed to hold on to a 2–0 lead, losing 3–2 after extra time. West Germany then defeated England in the semi-final of the
1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being M ...
, this time on
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. In
Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
, Germany again defeated England in a semi-final on penalties. England had beaten Germany in June 2000, during the Euro 2000 competition, with a 1–0 win at the
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in Belgium.
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...
had scored the winning goal in the twilight of his international career. Before that match, England had not beaten Germany/West Germany in competitive football since the
1966 FIFA World Cup Final The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was contested by England and West Germany, with England ...
. The previous meeting between the two teams had been in October 2000, in the final match at the old Wembley stadium; that match ended with a 1–0 victory for Germany, with a goal from Dietmar Hamann. England's manager
Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...
resigned after that game.


Tournament status

The game was part of the qualifying tournament for the
2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
. Germany were the clear group leaders in the qualifying tournament before the game. With only the group winners advancing directly to the World Cup, the qualifying group table was: A German victory would have confirmed their qualification and seen England competing with Greece and Finland for a place in the play-offs. A draw would have resulted in Germany requiring just another draw from their final game, and England requiring two victories, a German loss, and an improvement in their
goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
. Germany had lost just one of their previous sixty qualification games, in qualification for the
1986 World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...
, and had been unbeaten at the
Munich Olympic stadium Olympiastadion () is a stadium located in Munich, Germany. Situated at the heart of the '' Olympiapark München'' in northern Munich, the stadium was the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics. The original capacity was maximally and officiall ...
since 1973. Indeed, the
German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...
were so confident that Germany would finish at the top of the qualifying table that they had arranged
friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
on the dates of the play-offs. England named four strikers in their squad, with
Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player, who most recently managed East Bengal in the Indian Super League. As a player, he was a striker, and is the eighth-highest goalscorer in the history ...
and
Andy Cole Andrew Alexander Cole (born 15 October 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. His professional career lasted from 1988 to 2008, and is mostly remembered for his time with Manchester United, who paid a Briti ...
having started the recent friendly with the Netherlands. However,
Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...
recalled the in-form Michael Owen and his strike partner Emile Heskey in an attacking line-up for the match in Munich.


Match


First half

The match was an evening game, and began nervously, with both teams attempting to maintain possession. However, after just six minutes, Germany scored when Oliver Neuville headed down a lofted pass into England's penalty area, and
Carsten Jancker Carsten Jancker (born 28 August 1974) is a German football coach and former player who is the manager of Austrian club DSV Leoben. He played as a striker for various teams between 1993 and 2009, including FC Köln, Rapid Wien, FC Bayern Munic ...
tapped the ball past the England goalkeeper David Seaman. The lead did not last long, and after Michael Owen was fouled outside the German penalty area in the 12th minute, England were given a free kick. England's captain
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
took the kick, which neither the attacking nor defending players managed to touch. However, Gary Neville headed the ball back into the penalty area, where
Nick Barmby Nicholas Jon Barmby (born 11 February 1974) is an English football coach and former professional player. As a player, he played as a midfielder spending nearly his entire career in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough, Evert ...
headed it down to Owen, who volleyed the ball past Oliver Kahn. Both teams then had chances during the rest of the first half, notably
Sebastian Deisler Sebastian Toni Deisler (; born 5 January 1980) is a German former professional footballer who played as a right midfielder and attacking midfielder. A Borussia Mönchengladbach youth product, he played one season with the club during which it ...
for Germany; Seaman and Kahn both made some good saves. Just before the half-time, England won another free kick on the edge of the German penalty area, which was again taken by Beckham. Though he failed to beat the German wall, he crossed the ball back into the penalty area. Rio Ferdinand headed it back to
Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, Ge ...
, who shot the ball into the bottom-left corner of the goal from 25 yards out, putting England 2–1 up.


Second half

Three minutes after the kick-off, a cross from Beckham found Emile Heskey, who headed the ball down to Owen, who was unmarked. Owen hit the ball into right-hand corner of the net. Kahn managed to get a hand to the ball, but was unable to stop England claiming a 3–1 lead. Although Germany were able to create further chances, it was England who struck again in the 66th minute. Gerrard's successful tackle gave him possession, and he played a through ball to Owen, who sprinted into the box and fired the ball over Kahn's head to give England a 4–1 lead. This made Owen the first England player since Geoff Hurst in the
1966 World Cup Final The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a association football, football match played at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was conte ...
to score a hat-trick against Germany or West Germany. England began to defend their heavy lead. However, in the 74th minute, they extended it further following a counter-attack. Ferdinand won the ball in defence and gave it to
Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...
, who progressed up the pitch through a one-two passing move with Beckham. Scholes passed the ball to Heskey, who ran past the
Marko Rehmer Marko Rehmer (born 29 April 1972) is a German former professional footballer who played mainly as a right-back. Club career Rehmer was born in East Berlin. In his youth he played for hometown 1. FC Union Berlin; he arrived in the first divi ...
and hit the ball low past Kahn to make it 5–1. The final twenty minutes were quiet, with Germany beaten and England not needing to create any more chances. Some German fans left the game early in disgust, whilst the English fans celebrated their biggest victory since a 6–0 win over Luxembourg in 1999. It was England's biggest away win since 1993, when they had beaten San Marino 7–1. It was the first time that Germany had conceded five goals or more since West Germany's 6–3 defeat by France in 1958, and only the third time in their history that they had lost by four goals or more. Germany went on to lose 5–1 again, against Romania, in 2004.


Details

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Statistics


Aftermath

The game provided a boost for the England squad's morale, and greatly increased the popularity of their manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson. It was a low point for the German national team, whose performances had been worsening after the mid-1990s. It spawned two hit records: "England 5 – Germany 1" by The Business and "Sven Sven Sven" by Bell & Spurling. German manager Rudi Völler's father was reported to have suffered a heart attack watching the game. England beat Albania 2–0 in their next match, four days later. This meant that England and Germany entered the final qualifying game with an equal number of points, though England now had a better goal difference. Neither team managed to win their final group game, with a last minute Beckham free kick earning England a 2–2 draw with Greece. This sent England directly through, whilst Germany went into the play-offs, in which they defeated Ukraine to qualify for the World Cup. At the World Cup finals in South Korea and
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, Germany enjoyed more success, finishing as runners-up, which made them the most successful European team in that year's tournament. They also scored the tournament's biggest win that year, an 8–0 rout of Saudi Arabia. Their goalkeeper Oliver Kahn won FIFA's
Golden Ball Golden Ball may refer to: Awards * Golden Ball Award, FIFA competition award for best player of tournament ** FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Ball, FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, FIFA World Cup award for best player of tournament ** FIFA U-20 World Cup#A ...
, becoming the first goalkeeper to do so. England were only able to reach the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out after losing 1–2 to Brazil, who went on to defeat Germany 2–0 in the final.


See also

*
England–Germany football rivalry The English and German national football teams have played each other since the end of the 19th century, and officially since 1930. The teams met for the first time in November 1899, when England beat Germany in four straight matches. Notable ...
*
1966 FIFA World Cup Final The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was contested by England and West Germany, with England ...
*
2000 England v Germany football match England v Germany (2000) was the final match to be played at the old Wembley Stadium. The match was a 2002 World Cup qualifying game between England and Germany. Germany won the game 1–0, with the goal scored by Dietmar Hamann. England manage ...
*
List of England national football team hat-tricks Since the inception of international association football matches in 1872, 58 England male footballers have scored three or more goals (a hat-trick) in a game. The first players to score a hat-trick for England were Howard Vaughton and Arthu ...
*
List of Germany national football team hat-tricks This is a list of hat-tricks scored in matches involving the Germany national football team. Hat-tricks for Germany and West Germany Hat-tricks conceded by Germany and West Germany See also * Germany national football team records and statis ...


References


External links


BBC report on the game
{{England national football team matches Eng Ger Ger Germany v England
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
Sports competitions in Munich Germany v England football match, 2001 England–Germany football rivalry Germany v England football match Association football matches in Germany