MARK NOBLE has heard all about England glory against Germany after growing up at West Ham – and he is ready to add another chapter to the rivalry when he leads the Under-21s out tonight.
The statue of Bobby Moore, Sir Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters outside Upton Park is a constant reminder of 1966 when England won the World Cup, and now Noble and his fellow youngsters have to beat the Germans to lift the European Under-21 Championship.
While international football can be seen as a hindrance at some clubs, its importance is ingrained at West Ham.
Noble said: ‘‘You hear the fans singing their cheeky songs. When teams come to us and say we haven’t won anything, they sing back that they won the World Cup.
‘‘It’s just within the club.
You get that as a whole when you come to West Ham. You take it on board.’’ Noble and his team-mates are young but the 22-year-old midfielder is fully aware of the historical rivalry with Germany, diplomatically saying ‘‘we all do history in school’’.
He added: ‘‘We’re all English players and when you get brought through the ranks from Under-16s to Under-21s and the senior team, whenever you play Germany it is always a massive game. Everyone knows that.
‘‘It’s just from the history that we have between us.
Even though it is a European Championship final, there is no doubt there will be that extra little incentive because it is Germany.
‘‘That is the way they will think about us and that is the way we think about them.
When you put an England shirt on and you play against Germany you want to win.’’ Rivalries between countries is something Noble saw when Argentina forward Carlos Tevez was at West Ham.
‘‘I remember Carlos Tevez in our dressing room and he was late one day,’’ Noble said.
‘‘The forfeit was to pay a large amount of money or wear a Brazil shirt. He chose the money.’’ Noble believes that facing Germany in the final is an inevitable part of the script in his last action as an Under-21 player, two years after he was in tears following the semifinal defeat to Holland.
This time around, he was taken off against Sweden in the semi-finals and watched the hosts draw level after being 3-0 down, only for England to win on penalties.
‘‘When we were on the coach and got the news we were going to play Germany, it seemed like it was meant to be,’’ he added.
‘‘If every fan could say who they want in the final they would say Germany. There’s just something between the two countries.
‘‘We’ve played them once before in the tournament (1- 1 draw on Monday) and got a great result against them and dominated them in many spells. If we can do that again and learn from the Sweden match then I’m sure we can lift the trophy.’’
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