Euro 2020: Germany is not very serious about preparing for penalties in England, says Kai Havertz
Germany is not holding a serious penalty shootout practice ahead of the Euro 2020 round of 16 match against England at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, saying it hopes to finish the game within 90 minutes.
“We are going into the game wanting to win it over 90 minutes,” 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 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.
It also beat England on penalties at Wembley in the semifinals in the 1996 edition before going on to win its third European crown.
The Germans won just one game in their group but advanced in second place after a nervous 2-2 draw against Hungary.
England was 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.
“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.”
