History lesson

Sunday, 27 June, 2010

It's all about the here and now for England against Germany.

It is 20 years since England last faced Germany at a World Cup and 44 years since we beat them at Wembley in 1966.

Those are just two examples of the enormous history that weighs like a millstone around this fixture.

There are many ways to view the significance of the events of the past, and the relevance of those moments to what happens today and tomorrow.

James Joyce wrote that "history is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake," while fellow Irishman Eugene O'Neill proclaimed "there is no present or future, merely the past happening over and over again."

But as we approach a match steeped in history, it is time for a new chapter to be written.

The knowledge of what has gone before, from Hurst's hat-trick at Wembley, a Gerd Muller inspired comeback in Mexico, Gazza's tears in Turin and Southgate's penalty - it counts for nothing this afternoon.

The acceptance that what has gone before has no bearing on today has inspired a strength of belief in the coaches and players within this England squad.

In the same way that penalty defeats in '90 and '96 have no impact, neither does the 5-1 victory in Munich or the 2-1 win in Berlin 18 months ago.

Eleven players will cross the white line for England this afternoon and they will hold the key to staying in this World Cup.

Having repeated our routine from the Slovenia match and trained at our base camp on the day before the game before travelling in the afternoon, we arrived before dinner in Bloemfontein and our fourth hotel in South Africa. The repetition of actions for our victory over Slovenia will extend to wearing red shorts once more as well.

A small group of us then headed to the stadium with Fabio Capello and Steven Gerrard for the traditional press conference, only to find on arrival that neither the German manager nor captain had spoken to the media who were present. A minor footnote to all the other platitudes ahead of this game.

The players and coaches gathered to watch the USA v Ghana match after dinner, a fixture that England could have been part of but for Landon Donavon's late goal against Algeria three days earlier.

This morning the schedule is identical to Wednesday, breakfast is followed by a pre-match meal at lunchtime and we will leave for the stadium two hours before kick-off.

It is sunshine and serenity in our Spa hotel today, and while not everyone is fully aware of what is going on back home it is certainly in my mind that we are being sheltered from what must be an explosion of enthusiasm for such an important fixture.

Please send your messages below to the team, and enjoy the game.

Stuart Mawhinney