Euro 2020: Germany not big on penalty preparation – Havertz
Germany are not doing major penalty training ahead of their Euro 2020 round-of-16 match against England at Wembley stadium on Tuesday, saying they hope to finish off the game within 90 minutes.
The Germans have won every single World Cup penalty shootout they have done, as well as two out of three at Euros, losing only their first one in the 1976 Euro final to Czechoslovakia.
They also beat England on penalties at Wembley in the semifinals in the 1996 edition before going on to win their third European crown.
“We are going into the game wanting to win it over 90 minutes,” Germany midfielder Kai Havertz told a news conference at their team base in Bavaria on Sunday.
“It could of course go to penalties at this stage of the tournament so we have to be prepared. Obviously after training we hit a few penalties to see who the better penalty takers are.
“But it is not the biggest issue of the game. The 120 minutes before that could be far more important and putting too much pressure on yourself (with penalties) is not good.”
The Germans won just one game in their group but advanced in second place after a nervous 2-2 draw against Hungary.
England were equally unimpressive but even more efficient to top Group D with seven points and no goals conceded, but they are the lowest-scoring team ever to top a Euros group, with just two goals.
Read Also: Euro 2020: Bucharest arena capacity increased for France v Swiss
“It would be wrong to underestimate them. We know England well. They have some of the world’s best players and, yes, they also have room for improvement,” said Havertz, who will come up against several of his Chelsea team mates on Tuesday.
“But England have not yet conceded a goal in the tournament and they have so many individual qualities. You have to respect them but we are also a team with good players. For me and the entire team it will be a special game.”