Cologne will welcome England to the city for the first time on 20 June as they meet Sweden.
| RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne |
Capacity: 46,120 Club: 1 FC Cologne England's last game: England have never played in Cologne England's record in Cologne - N/A |
Cologne is another of the World Cup venues to have undergone much change throughout its lifetime, but it's in its latest guise that the City welcomes England for the first time.
Having missed out on a chance to be part of the World Cup in 1974, the new 46,000 capacity purpose-built RheinEnergieStadion made the cut this time and will host five games including the Three Lions final group match against Sweden.
Constructed on the site of the old Müngersdorfer stadium, which previously featured a running track, the more compact arena staged its first match on 31 March 2004 with a friendly between Germany and Belgium.
The first stadium on the site opened its doors in 1923 and in 1965 played host to European Cup Quarter-Final. Liverpool were the visitors and drew 0-0 in the first-leg. The second-leg at Anfield ended in similar fashion but the Reds went through by the toss of a disc after a 2-2 draw in the neutral surroundings of a Rotterdam play-off.
Ten year's later the Müngersdorfer saw more regeneration and the RheinEnergieStadion's predecessor hosted its inaugural match in 1975.
Games in Cologne
|
Match |
Date |
Teams (Group/Stage) |
Time |
|
8 |
11 June |
Angola v Portugal (D) |
8pm |
|
26 |
17 June |
Czech Republic v Ghana (E) |
5pm |
|
35 |
20 June |
Sweden v England (B) |
8pm |
|
45 |
23 June |
Togo v France (G) |
8pm |
|
54 |
26 June |
Winner G v Runner-Up H (R16) |
8pm |
All times are BST (1hr behind local time)