World waits to watch England play Germany

World waits to watch England play Germany

Updated at: 1035 PST, Sunday, June 27, 2010 JOHANNESBURG: Millions of football fans around the globe are preparing to savour the clash of the World Cup so far between archrivals England and Germany. The match is destined to burn itself into fans' memories alongside the close-fought encounters of 1990 and 1996, which ended in penalty shoot-out heartbreak for England, as well as the 5-1 hammering of Germany on their home turf in 2001. Both teams are regarded as giants on the world stage, although Germany can point to three world titles while England have claimed the crown only once - emerging victorious when the two sides contested the final in 1966. All 23 of England's players are fully fit and their army of travelling supporters will be praying they see the type of free-flowing form they glimpsed in the game against Slovenia in Port Elizabeth. They know they cannot afford to relapse into the incoherence and toothlessness of the previous two group matches against a Germany side that spanked Australia 4-0 in their opening fixture. However, they can take heart from the fact that Joachim Loew's men then went on to show uncharacteristic vulnerability by losing 1-0 to Serbia - and missing a penalty for the first time since 1974. Despite the importance of the clash, which Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer said was more worthy of a semi-final than a round of 16 tie, the atmosphere on the eve of the game in Bloemfontein was muted. The town's waterfront, a focal point for visitors and shoppers, was relatively quiet, with only a few dozen fans sitting outside its bars and restaurants. Tourism bosses in Bloemfontein admit the city has scored an own goal by being under-prepared for the numbers flooding in for the epic clash. An acute shortage of accommodation has kept most of England's fans away from the Free State capital until the day of the game. A spokesperson at the city tourism office said that everywhere was booked up and that the only rooms becoming available were either cancellations or people offering rentals of rooms in private properties. She added that officials had advised local businesses to charge double rates, but admitted some were asking for much more.