Rio Ferdinand has claimed that he is ‘quite confident’ about England’s chances against Germany in the last-16 of Euro 2020.
England will face Joachim Lowe’s side who only just scraped into the next round, after Leon Goretzka’s 84th minute equaliser against Hungary.
It was a nervy night for Germany, and something that has given Ferdinand some hope going into next Tuesday’s match at Wembley.
‘Knockout football awaits and England now can really focus,’ he said on BBC after the conclusion of Portugal’s 2-2 draw with France.
He added: ‘Listen, we had an eye on the other game as well (Germany v Hungary) and after watching that game, I’m quite confident of a good result for England.
‘I know we’re getting excited, that’s what we do as England fans.’
It’s not the first time Ferdinand has made a prediction on England’s chances so far this tournament, after he backed England to beat Scotland before their goalless stalemate.
Ferdinand’s confidence for the Germany came after they had to come from behind twice to beat Hungary.
Their opponents took a shock lead through Adam Szalai after 11 minutes, though Chelsea’s Kai Havertz equalised after 66 minutes.
They quickly found themselves behind again as Andras Schafer put the Hungarians back in front.
It looked as though England were set to face Portugal in the next round before Goretza’s late equaliser.
The last time England and Germany met at the Euros, Alan Shearer scored the winner in 2000 though both sides failed to make it out of the group stage.
However, the last time they faced at Wembley in the competition was four years earlier when Germany famously won a penalty shootout.
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