JORDAN HENDERSON claims England are gradually taking over Germany’s crown as ‘tournament specialists’ – and feels the squad’s “mental strength” will be the key to them triumphing at Wembley.

The latest installment of England’s age-old footballing rivalry with the Germans will be played out on Tuesday, with the two sides locking horns for a place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020.

Since losing in the final of the 1966 World Cup, Germany have knocked England out of four major tournaments, with their ability to rise to the big occasion and hold their collective nerve in the most pressurised of situations regularly cited as key factors in their success.

England’s players overcame a significant mental obstacle when they beat Colombia on penalties in the last World Cup, and having made it to the last four in Russia, Henderson claims he and his team-mates are no longer inferior to their German counterparts when it comes to handling the demands of the knockout stages of a major competition.

“I think we’ve shown over recent years that we’ve got a lot of that in our game now,” said the Wearsider. “We’ve shown that in how we manage games, how we see games out, and how we always keep going right to the very, very end.

“Overcoming a penalty shoot-out in the World Cup was a big thing mentally for everyone, I think. I do feel as though we’ve definitely improved with that over the last few years, and that’s going to be a big thing on Tuesday.

“In football, or in any sport, mental strength is a huge part of it. I feel as though we’ve got a lot of players within the squad who are very mentally strong, and that’s going to be important come Tuesday.”

Henderson was born during Italia 90, a tournament that saw England lose to Germany on penalties in the semi-finals. He does not really remember Euro 96, when Gareth Southgate’s penalty miss led to another last-four defeat at the hands of the Germans, but vividly recalls the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, when Frank Lampard had a goal controversially disallowed as England crashed to a 4-1 second-round defeat.

Since then, England and Germany have met on four occasions, with Germany winning twice, England winning once, and the other game ending in a draw. The English success came in a friendly in Berlin in 2016, with Henderson playing the full 90 minutes of his side’s 3-2 win.

“It’s a special game, definitely a special game,” he said. “In recent years, you probably look at the goal that was over the line and wasn’t given, and that’s probably the stand-out England-Germany game.

“It’s a special game for the players, for the fans, for the neutral watching, everyone. It’s a big game and that’s what you want to be playing in, in these tournaments. It’s very exciting. Everybody will be looking forward to it, but we’ve just got to make sure we stay focused and give everything on the pitch, and have no regrets.”

Germany experienced mixed fortunes in the group stages, narrowly losing to France, thrashing Portugal, but almost going out as they twice trailed to Hungary before eventually scrambling to a 2-2 draw.

It has been suggested that this is not a vintage German side, but with the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Toni Kroos, Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane having featured in the starting line-up on Wednesday, Henderson remains respectful of the quality of the opposition.

“They’re still a very good side,” he said. “Look at the players they’ve got – there’s quality all over the pitch. It’s going to be a very tough test, but in games like this, it’s not necessarily about form, it’s about who’s better on the night and who puts the better performance in. Whoever does that is going to have more chance of winning.”

Having missed the final three months of last season after undergoing groin surgery in February, Henderson’s place in the tournament squad was in doubt right up the point when it was announced.

The Sunderland-born midfielder did not feature in England’s opening two group matches, but having come off the bench for the second half of Tuesday’s win over the Czech Republic, he insists he is ready to start against Germany if selected.

“It was very pleasing to get some minutes the other night,” he said. “I was very happy to get 45 minutes. I feel good, and I’ve felt good for a while now. Of course, I hadn’t played for a while, up until I played in the friendly a few weeks ago. But I’ve been training for a long time, feeling good and training well. I just need to make sure I’m ready so that whenever I’m called upon, I can come on and do a job for the team.”