Heat on for England fans before Germany clash

Patriotic fervour gripped England on Sunday as millions of soccer fans prepared to watch their team take on long-time rivals Germany in the second round of the World Cup.             

A huge TV audience was expected for the game and with forecasters predicting England's hottest day of the year so far, open air screenings were predicted to prove popular.

Thousands of music lovers will watch the match on a big screen at the huge open-air Glastonbury Festival, in southwest England, where organisers have urged fans to don hats and slap on sunscreen.  

Princes William and Harry have passed on messages of support to England's team, saying the country will be "hugely proud" as long as the players gave their all. 

Prime minister David Cameron said he was hoping to take time out from the G20 summit in Toronto to watch part of the match with German chancellor Angela Merkel.

However, such a spirit of cooperation was lost on a jingoistic English tabloid press eager to dig up old rivalries, while some could not resist alluding to the Second World War.

"All out roar!" proclaimed the News of the World with a picture of England''s top three players snarling like lions.                            

"We'll make Roo sorry!" taunted the Sunday Mirror, predicting a thrashing by England that would make German critics "eat their words".  

"We will fight jeering jerries on the pitches," proclaimed the Daily Star with a picture of England striker Wayne Rooney in a tin hat. 

Don't mention the war

German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said it was a matter of regret that certain newspapers had felt the need to refer back to past conflicts when talking about soccer. 

"I don't know who needs it, we definitely don't," he told the BBC. "This is a thing of the past, doesn't help in the present and future, and we should just ignore it."                                           

Sunday's clash will mark the third time in 20 years that England and Germany have met in the knockout stage of a major soccer tournament and fans will be hoping for a turnaround in England's fortunes.

At both the World Cup in 1990 and the European championships in 1996, England lost out to Germany on penalties in the semi-finals.

Despite its claim to be the birthplace of the game, England have only won the World Cup once, on home soil in 1966, and the failure of its top players to live up to their billing at international level has been a source of much soul-searching.                  

When it comes to the crunch, England fans are hoping experience will count over historical statistics. While England is fielding one of the most experienced sides in the World Cup, Germany is putting out its youngest squad in 76 years.