Overall, the two teams have won eight FIFA World Cup championships (four each) and made a total of fourteen appearances in the final of the tournament (eight for Germany and six for Italy) – more than all the other European nations combined.
"Game of the Century", the 1970 semifinal between the two countries that Italy won 4–3 in extra time, was so dramatic that it is commemorated by a plaque at the entrance of the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
[102][103] The England–Germany football rivalry is considered to be mainly an English phenomenon—in the run-up to any competition match between the two teams, many UK newspapers will print articles detailing results of previous encounters, such as those in 1966, 1990 and 1996.
Football fans in England often consider Germany to be their main sporting rivals and care more about this rivalry than those with other nations, such as Argentina or Scotland.
Most German fans consider the Italy to be their traditional footballing rivals, and as such, usually the rivalry is not taken quite as seriously there as it is in Netherlands or England.
Notable matches between England and Germany (or West Germany) include the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final (which England won), and the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996 (both of which West Germany/Germany won, and went on to win the whole tournament in each case) .