In this May 14, 1938 file photo, the England football team salutes the Nazis in front of a record crowd of more than 100,000 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin before the start of their game against Germany.
One of the great rivalries in international football will be renewed at the European Championship on Tuesday when England take on Germany in the round of 16 at Wembley Stadium.
The teams have played some epic matches in the past, including the 1966 World Cup final and the semi-finals at Euro ’96.
They each won one of those matches, but overall the Germans led with 15 wins, 13 losses and four draws.
1938: England 6, Germany 3
Less about the result and more about what happened before kickoff in front of 110,000 fans at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, with English spectators giving a Nazi salute while the German anthem was played.
And they did it under the orders of the British Government.
The act gave Adolf Hitler a propaganda coup a year before Britain declared war on Nazi Germany following the invasion of Poland in 1939.
1966: England 4, West Germany 2
England won their only World Cup title by defeating West Germany in a match in London that created an enduring moment of controversy that is still a matter of debate.
With a 2–2 score in extra time, Alan Ball passed England teammate Geoff Hurst, who turned and shot. The ball is thrown under the West German crossbar and Roger Hunt is picked up.
His arms to bounce the ball over the goal line.
Wolfgang Weber thought he was leading the ball for a corner, but Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst awarded Soviet linesman Tofik Bakhramov what he believed was a goal.
Limited camera angles and low-quality footage have meant that it is inconclusive to date whether the ball crossed the line. But it was counted as Hearst’s second goal on the scoreboard at Wembley Stadium.
His third – a thumping left-foot drive – completed what remained the only hat-trick in a World Cup final.
1970: West Germany 3, England 2
The Germans recovered from a 2–0 deficit in the quarter-finals of the 1970 tournament in Mexico to officially end England’s reign as World Cup champions.
Alan Mullery and Martin Peters gave England the lead, but Franz Beckenbauer started the recovery in the middle of the second half. England coach Alf Ramsey replaced midfielder Bobby Charlton and an equalizer from West Germany captain Uwe Seeler sent the game into extra time.
Gerd Müller volleyed in the winner to secure Germany’s first competitive win over England and a semi-final berth against Italy – a match they would lose.
1972: West Germany 3, England 1
Before the European Championship expanded its final tournament, the quarter-finals were still part of qualifying and were played over two stages at home and away.
England hosted West Germany in the first match at Wembley in 1972 and Uli Hohens put Germany ahead with a curling shot from just outside the penalty area, leading England goalkeeper Gordon Banks to a face-off on the field.
Francis Lee was able to equalize late for England, but Günter Netzer and Gerd Müller scored in the 84th and 88th minutes respectively to give the West Germans a 3–1 lead.
Second match. The next game at the Olympic Stadium in West Berlin ended 0–0, sending West Germany on their way to the title in Brussels.
1990: West Germany 1, England 1 (West Germany won 4-3 on penalties)
As in 1966 and 1970, teams got extra time at the World Cup – this time in the semi-finals in Italy.
Gary Lineker equalized for England when Andreas Brehm’s free kick reduced them to 1-0.
The match was made even more memorable as Paul Gascoigne’s tears after receiving the yellow card would have ruled him out of the final. When England lost the penalty shootout, there was more crying.
Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddell both kicked their places over the bar and the Germans won the final.
1996: England 1, Germany 1 (Germany won 6-5 on penalties)
There was no other victory over Germany at Wembley Stadium in a major soccer tournament.
Alan Shearer led England in the semi-finals of Euro ’96 with a header, but Stefan Kuntz equalized for the now-integrated Germans. Paul Gascoigne then failed to connect with Shearer’s cross, sending the game to a penalty.
Current England coach Gareth Southgate missed a decisive kick in the shootout and Germany won the title.
2000: Germany 1, England 0
The last game at Old Wembley was Kevin Keegan’s last game in charge of the England national team.
Soon after Dietmar Hamann’s free kick collided with goalkeeper David Seemann’s hands, the coach decided to leave, demanding privacy in the bathroom cubicle.
2001: England 5, Germany 1
On German soil, England produced a signature victory of Sven-Göran Eriksson’s tenure as coach – and it is their greatest performance against a unified Germany team.
Karsten Jenker scored to give Germany the lead in Munich in a qualifying match for the 2002 World Cup, but a trio of Liverpool players then took over.
Michael Owen scored a hat-trick, Steven Gerrard knocked out the half-volley to give England the lead and Emil Heskey struck the final blow.
2010: Germany 4, England 1
Back in the World Cup, this time in the Round of 16 in South Africa, both teams scored five goals, but the match most remembered for did not count.
After going 2–0 down, England managed to get past defender Matthew Upson once. The revived England team then went ahead in search of an equalizer and Frank Lampard fought hard from the edge of the penalty area.
The ball hit the bar, and television replays clearly showed it bouncing a yard behind the German goal line.
However, the referee waved up the play, a blow from which the British never recovered, instead giving the Germans two more goals.
Denied goals changed the game four years later for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with goal-line technology.
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