When it comes to playing the Germans, fans of the England football team will take all the good luck they can get.
So it may come as a concern that Gareth Southgate’s men will not be wearing their ‘lucky’ red shirts when they take on the Germans at Wembley on Tuesday.
Uefa confirmed yesterday that the England team will play in their all-white kit, while the Germans will play in black.
England have only beaten Germany twice before at an international tournament – at Wembley in the 1966 World Cup Final and during the group stages at Euro 2000 – and on both occasions the team were wearing red.
However, the colour was not so lucky for the England team at the 2010 World Cup, where Germany ran out 4-1 winners after a goal from England midfielder Frank Lampard was infamously ruled out.
For Euro 2020, England’s away kit is blue.
Millions of England fans are expected to leave work early on Tuesday to watch the crucial last 16 tie, which kicks off at 5pm. About 45,000 fans will be allowed inside Wembley, and the Football Association on Monday released a statement urging fans not to boo the German national anthem or the taking of the knee.
“Whether you are at Wembley Stadium, or watching from somewhere else, please support England in the right way, before, during and after the match,” an FA statement read.
“This includes respecting each national anthem and the players’ choice to take the knee before kick-off. We want you to be able to watch the match in a safe and enjoyable environment that’s free from any discriminatory or disrespectful behaviour.”
Meanwhile in Germany, the mood was confident with the country’s football association taunting English fans by tweeting in German: “It’s coming home.”
However, there was also frustration in the German press at Chancellor Angela Merkel for travelling to London when fans are forbidden from coming to Wembley to support the national team. “The fans are banned, but Mrs Merkel can fly?” the German tabloid Bild spluttered.
Senior politicians have also tutted disapprovingly at the fact the game is being played in front of a live crowd.
Karl Lauterbach, a German politician who has become famous for his doom-laden warnings throughout the pandemic, described the Euros as a “fire starter for the delta variant”.
And Der Spiegel magazine sniffed: “What the British government and Uefa are doing can only be described as a bad joke… the symbolism of full stadiums is fatal given the infection situation in Britain.”