Germany vs England – bullish James defies penalty worries
Published:David James does not think England will need a penalty shoot-out to beat Germany in their last 16 tie because, simply, he believes England have the better team.
James is convinced that his side are good enough to triumph in normal time, and an England win inside 90 minutes is priced at 8/5.
James has yet to concede a goal in his two World Cup appearances, and England are 7/4 to keep a clean sheet against Germany.
Although James is adamant that England will not require a penalty shoot-out, all four World Cup fixtures between Germany and England have been level after 90 minutes.
Germany have never lost on penalties, so the prospect of spot-kicks will not alarm Joachim Low’s side. The match is 5/1 to go to penalties.
England are 10/1 to win in a shoot-out, while Germany are also 10/1 to claim victory via this method.
James insists that the squad have refused to dwell on shoot-out defeats to Germany at the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96, and have instead focused on their 2008 friendly win in Berlin.
An experimental England side won that match 2-1, with goals from John Terry and Matthew Upson, who are both expected to start on Sunday.
Upson is 50/1 to open the scoring, as he did in Berlin, while Terry is 25/1 to score first.
And if the match does go to a shoot-out, Terry may be required to take his first penalty since 2008, when his miss from 12 yards cost Chelsea the Champions League final.
Do you agree with David James? England are 8/5 to beat Germany. See the full Germany vs England market.
