England head to Bloemfontein
Thursday, 24 June, 2010
England take on Germany at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
With England having successfully negotiated their way out of Group C, their attentions will now be firmly on their Round of 16 clash with old foes Germany on Sunday.
The match takes place at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein – a venue that neither side has played at during the tournament thus far – and will be the final 2010 World Cup game hosted there.
Although Germany are recognised as the ‘home’ team – having topped Group D – both sides will have a significant journey to the stadium.
England’s base camp in Rustenburg is roughly 450 kilometres from Bloemfontein, while Germany’s base in Pretoria is of a similar distance away.
The stadium hosts its final group game on Friday evening, as Switzerland and Honduras face each other in Group H, with both teams still vying for qualification into the knockout stages. And spectators will hope it can maintain its record as a goalscoring venue, having seen goals – nine in total – in each of the four previous games held there.
The Three Lions will care little about what has gone before, however, as they prepare to face the Germans for the fifth time in their World Cup history, with a current record that reads W1-D1-L2.
Fabio Capello and his men will be keen to level that record on Sunday, hopefully with a free-scoring performance in the Free State Stadium.