Missing in action: Southgate after his Euro 96 miss

Just as most fans were convinced that fate, skill and the two-legged format would combine to give England the ultimate edge against Scotland, so that same conviction is felt almost as powerfully in reverse when it comes to the Germans.

It can be summed up in just one word: penalties.

Two of the last three competitive clashes have been settled by the spot-kick and both have shot-down an England side on the brink of major footballing success.

First at the 1990 World Cup and most recently on home soil in the 1996 European Championships.

At Italia 90 England had possibly their best chance of repeating their 1966 triumph.

Italia '90: Pearce is led away in tears

But it evaporated on the pitch of Turin's Delle Alpi stadium, where first, Stuart Pearce's kick was saved and then Chris Waddle blasted his into orbit.

The result left Germany in the finals and England with the delusion that their old adversary was not better at football - just better at taking penalties.

That kernel of moral comfort was left to fester for seven years - until the next competitve meeting, at Euro 96.

England had already overcome one old enemy, Scotland, on route to the semi-final clash.

More than 20 million people - a third of the population - tuned in and were sent into delirium by Alan Shearer's 2nd minute goal.

Germany went on to beat Argentina 1-0 in the 1990 final

Suddenly "30 years of hurt"- as the unofficial anthem of the tournament went - appeared to be nearing an end. But when Stefan Kuntz equalised 15 minutes later, the sense of despondent superstition returned.

The game went to extra-time - Steve McManaman hit the post, Paul Gasgoigne came within the width of a beer mat of sliding home the winner and Sandor Puhl, the excellent Hungarian referee, even ruled out a Kuntz header.

The intensity of the game was only magnified by the final whistle and the prospect of sudden-death spot-kicks.

For the record it went like this:

• England 1 (Shearer) Germany 0;
• England 1 Germany 1 (Thomas Hassler);
• England 2 (David Platt) Germany 1;
• England 2 Germany 2 (Thomas Strunz)
• England 3 (Stuart Pearce) Germany 2;
• England 3 Germany 3 (Stefan Reuter);
• England 4 (Paul Gascoigne) Germany 3;
• England 4 Germany 4 (Christian Ziege);
• England 5 (Teddy Sheringham) Germany 4;
• England 5 Germany 5 (Stefan Kuntz).
• Then disaster. Gareth Southgate's poor kick was saved by Andreas Kopke and Andreas Moller finished England off.

"Tantalising, terrifying, tragic," said Paddy Ashdown, the then Liberal Democrat leader.

The feeling, lodged nigglingly at the back of every frustrated English mind ever since, has been "until we meet again".

England hit back during Euro 2000 with a patchy 1-0 victory at Charleroi thanks to what turned out to be Alan Shearer's penultimate international goal.

They will have to do without him for the last ever match at the old Wembley Stadium.