Cheeky schoolkids go viral across various social media platforms after how they taunted German players off the coach on Tuesday.
Joachim Low and his side landed in the capital ahead of this evening’s Euro 2020 showdown at Wembley, however when the Germany team arrived at their London hotel, they got a brutal welcoming.
The frosty reception from a bunch of children came as they went to check in, with the kids also superbly chanting ‘who are ya’ at the 2014 world champions.
🤪’Who are you’
– Schoolchildren taunt #Germany as they arrive at hotel in London ahead of #England clash at #EURO2020 #German #EnglandvsGermany #Euros2021 #GER #ENGGER pic.twitter.com/2yFVMH1Qpv— CGTN Sports Scene (@CGTNSportsScene) June 29, 2021
However, the Germans did not appear too unnerved by the youngsters – and can expect plenty more of the same at Wembley later with 45,000 in the stands.
Die Mannschaft were due to arrive from Nuremberg Airport and then train on the Wembley pitch, however the heavy rain in London meant UEFA blocked their session to protect the turf.
Instead, Germany made their final preparations at their base back home in Herzogenaurach yesterday morning before the flight.
German newspaper Bild described the disruption as a ‘scandal’, just a tad extreme no?
Meanwhile these were the scenes pre-match and England fans including Danny Dyer are making quite a noise, showing support at Wembley…
WHAT’S SOUTHGATE SAID AHEAD OF THE GAME?
“I don’t need to demystify it,” Southgate said of the rivalry with Germany. “The history is an irrelevance for them.
“We’ve got boys born into the 2000s, which is obviously scary but it’s the reality of the group we’re dealing with.
“It’s of no consequence to them what we did in, you know, Peter Bonetti in 1970 and what happened in 1990 and so on.
“Of course, they’re watching that stuff and getting a bit of an understanding of it but it’s not something we’re speaking to them about.
“This team have put down lots of historical performances in the last couple of years, made their own history, made their own stories and this is how they should view this game.
“It’s an opportunity. We’ve only won one knockout match in a European Championship as a country, so they’ve got a great chance to go and be the first team since 1996 to do that.”
Southgate was irritated by the suggestion his side had been playing with the handbrake on.
“Well, those things are always our ambition,” he said when asked about playing with more freedom and speed.
“I mean we’ve played four attacking players in the matches we’ve played so far.
“We don’t say to the players ‘don’t play the ball forward’, ‘don’t move the ball quickly’, ‘don’t attack’.
“I don’t think you’d have found any of those messages in our preparation for any of the games, so very often the opposition dictate a lot of the things you’re allowed to do in football matches.
“We know that we want to be better with the ball and we want to move the ball more quickly and we’ve got to build on the solidity that we’ve shown already to this point.”
England have yet to concede this tournament and are prepared to go beyond 120 minutes on Tuesday if the match goes to a shootout.
“We have a process,” Southgate added. “We’ve obviously won our last two penalty shootouts, so we had a process that worked for us through that preparation and we followed that same process.
“There’s a little bit more focus on it this week but we don’t start that this week because that would be too late and also we didn’t want to make a bigger thing of it than it is.
“We created a process that works for us. We think the players understand that and we’ll be well prepared if it comes to that moment.”
Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis, said: “England came into Euro 2020 ranked eighth in the world by Gracenote but the chance of winning the tournament was estimated at 13.6% because of the home advantage the team would enjoy for up to six matches.
“Prior to the second round beginning, England became favourites to win Euro 2020 because of their presence in the less difficult-looking side of the draw and they are again second favourites since Belgium progressed to the next round.
“England have an extra advantage during the knockout phase which no other team has. By playing at Wembley in the second round and, if they get there, the semi-finals and final, England’s chance of being successful is increased by about 12%.
“This is no guarantee of winning the tournament but they have more chance now than they would on neutral ground.”
🗣️ “This is a game which is electrifying”
Joachim Löw has the latest from the #GER camp ahead of tonight’s showdown at Wembleypic.twitter.com/GeFiVtMef0
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) June 29, 2021
LAWRO’S PREDICTION:
This is one of the most ordinary Germany sides I have seen for ages, but they are still Germany, in a knockout competition and they are going to enjoy being at Wembley.
At the very least, they are going to be really, really difficult to beat, and they could even have a really big performance in them.
That might come against England, who have done what they have had to so far and have probably played well for 90 minutes in total at this tournament – in the first halves of their games against Croatia and the Czechs.
Sadly for them, those moments have been followed by what I would describe as staccato spells, where they have stagnated in attack and decided to sit back a bit.
Some of that has been down to Gareth Southgate’s team selection, because he has been cautious. He has got some big calls to make now.
It is going to be extremely close but I think this is going to penalties – and I am backing England to get their own back this time.
Lawro’s prediction: 0-0 after extra time – England to win on penalties
As mentioned, cheeky schoolkids go viral after how they taunted German players off the coach on Tuesday. Can you remember of a time you did something similar? Let us know on our socials!
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