England's old guard take on young Germany for place in last eight

Especially when playing the Germans, who inflicted the agony — on penalties, of course, at Italia 90 — that in 44 years of hurt, hurt most.

Yet as Oliver Kahn says elsewhere in these pages, this is not 1990 or Euro 96, but World Cup 2010 and to let even one synapse connect to a previous year is nonsense.

Here is where a relentlessly pragmatic Italian should come in. Fabio Capello is all about the now. He shows it in his ability to move on from bad performances, like Algeria, or sticky situations, like John Terry’s idiot revolution.

There’s only one past encounter of which it is worth Capello reminding players, the sides’ last meeting, in Berlin, November 2008, when England won 2-1 despite playing the second half with Scott Carson, Stewart Downing and Darren Bent in the XI.

Kahn, Lothar Matthäus, Andy Brehme, Andy Moller: these ghosts mean nothing because the current nationalmannschaft is nothing like previous sides.

The Germans revel in that, in the adventure of Mesut Ozil and his cohort, in the gauche, exotic, risk-taking football of their young team.

It suits the morale of a nation to see renewal but, today, the callow openness of Joachim Löw’s kinder might be a disadvantage.

“It’s youthful lightness against international class,” said Löw. He meant it as a positive but the statement is encouraging to English ears.

The golden generation have one last chance to do something deserving of their hype Of course, as Alan Hansen knows, you can win with kids but perhaps only up to a point. When David Beckham and Co first made Manchester United’s first team they won domestically but were outmanoeuvred in Europe.

If, in a match of such import, in the last 16 of a World Cup, England can use their battle-forged smarts, Germans might wish their side included a few of the warriors of old.

For England’s players it has to be about now because their future is not guaranteed. The golden generation have one last chance to do something deserving of their hype.

Their cult began with a 5-1 win over Germany in 2001; now 0-0 and winning on penalties is all they need to go down in history.

Winning would only take England into the quarter-finals, which is par for the course for Fifa’s eighth-ranked nation and a side that nearly always gets to the quarters and goes out, but England’s World Cup record when not at home is so moderate, victory in Bloemfontein would go straight to near the top of the pantheon.

A happy consequence of the awful group openers against USA and Algeria is that anything seems a bonus now and Capello’s men are riding a feelgood wave that some might say has swept rather easily their way, simply for beating Slovenia 1-0.

A buzz concept around Löw’s camp is that Germany’s youth makes them — in the words of Hansi Flick, his assistant — “happy-go-lucky” but it isn’t a strength on which they have a monopoly.

Such is England’s relief at performing against Slovenia, Capello’s players say they believe there’s nothing, now, to lose.

Could this mean Frank Lampard, who has taken 33 shots without scoring in World Cup finals games (the joint record with Nigeria’s Jay Jay Okocha), will at last feel relaxed enough to do what comes naturally to him with Chelsea?

Steven Gerrard has done better at this level than anyone in the team, except Terry and Ashley Cole, but never quite given one of his classic Liverpool performances in an England shirt. Might his mind be clear enough to do this now?

In terms of posterity, for the supposedly golden boys, the game is all-or-nothing. Win, and in thinking them under-achievers, we might concede we got them wrong. Lose, and it will be confirmation the only thing historic about this side are their pay packets.

Wayne Rooney, who, like Lampard, has never scored in the World Cup, has as much to prove as anyone. He will be almost 29 when the 2014 finals come round and, given top-level football has pounded him since he was 16, can he guarantee to still be in his prime at that age?

Lampard, Gerrard, Terry and others are unlikely to still be around and FA coaches from Capello down are pessimistic about what’s coming through until you get to England’s champion Under-17 side.

Until players from that team develop, Rooney could be beached among moderate talents, as Ryan Giggs was for years with Wales.

For Rooney, as much as any of them, the moment is now and he has 90 minutes to restore himself to the status he craves: of being part of a trinity of modern legends alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Both the latter have impressed in the tournament, grasping the fact that to be regarded as a true great in football, you must have “done it” in the sport’s greatest competition.

Capello believes the ankle injury Rooney suffered in Munich in March continues to hamper him physically and psychologically and the Italian’s statements about Rooney looking superb in training are said to be more aimed at improving Rooney’s morale than describing a reality.

“Some strikers only need a goal to set them off but Wayne, who likes to feel he’s contributing all the time, is the type who needs a performance,” says David Moyes. The Everton manager feels that if, against Germany, England continue with the pressing game high up the pitch that Capello likes, it could give Rooney an environment in which to flourish.

England’s previous opponents did not look to dominate possession but the Germans will and they have defenders who can be caught dwelling on the ball.

If Rooney could be the one to start winning it back, he would feed off the resulting cheers of England supporters and the more brilliant elements in his game might also start clicking back.

Löw is open about the fact his side is still developing. His starting XI could feature four players from the under-21s who beat England in last year’s Euro championships, including Ozil and his midfield sidekick, Sami Khedira, plus two further proteges, Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller, who were still playing for the under-19s in 2009.

By 2014 this refulgent crew could be out of sight of England. Even Philipp Lahm, one of the team’s elders and its captain, will only be 30 then.

Lahm’s duel with Ashley Cole on England’s left flank will be pivotal and Gerrard’s tendency to tuck inside can leave Cole unprotected. Gerrard and Rooney, though, will look to get at the lumbering Per Mertesacker and there are opportunities for Lampard with neither Khedira or Kroos — if he comes in for Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has a hamstring problem — are holding players suited to curb Lampard’s marauding.

David James would actually relish it going to penalties and a typical example of James eccentricity it looks. England’s restored No 1 practises penalty-saving more than nearly any other keeper.

Keen on his sports science, James has access to an exhaustive database from performance analysts Amisco detailing how potential opponents take their penalties and footage that shows their previous spot-kicks from three or four angles. James uses relaxation and focusing techniques to prepare when facing penalties and at Portsmouth would insist teammates took penalties against him at the end of every training session.

James is a student of the what indications run-ups, body shape and foot position provide and believes in reading these before committing himself decisively at the last moment. His penalty save from Lampard in the FA Cup final was the result of such preparation, including extensive video study.

“It’s as if his mind is one of those cine cameras that can flick back through images,” said James’ coach at Portsmouth, David Coles. “When someone is preparing to take a penalty he’ll flick through his mental library before ‘seeing’ the footage of them he’s watched. Psychologically he’s the best goalkeeper I’ve ever seen and penalties are about psychology.”

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to them, though.

Rooney’s six-year goal drought
The most recent involvement by Wayne Rooney in a goal at a major tournament (either by scoring it or setting it up) dates back to June 21, 2004, when he scored twice against Croatia in a group match at the European Championships

Get in first
History suggests that England will struggle if they go a goal down. The last time they won a World Cup game after the opposition opened the scoring was in the 1966 World Cup final.