As the England v. Slovenia game drew to a close after ninety minutes of painful tension there was a brief explosion of delirium and relief – for about five seconds. Then the news came through of Landon Donovan’s dramatic late winner against Algeria and the slow realisation set in that England were going to have to play their self-imposed old foes and enemies, Germany.

If Rooney or Defoe had put away their chances (which you would expect them to do every single time if they were in their Premier League club shirts), then England wouldn’t have been in this situation. Sure, it was brilliant to be through to the next round after the second-game jitters against Algeria, but all they had to do was score one more goal in a game that they largely dominated and they would have had a far less scary sounding second-round fixture against Ghana. We wouldn’t even have to mention the war if we were playing them…

Germany are undoubtedly a great side, but they are a team that England can beat, providing they up their game. Here are some things they will need to bear in mind if they are to overcome one of their World Cup bogey sides:

1)      Shut down Mesut Ozil.
The 21-year-old has been in scintillating form in the group stage for Germany. He has the touch and vision to open up defences with killer passes or surges into the area. He showed his fantastic technique and confidence when he scored the winning goal in their final group game against Ghana with a sensational dipping volley. The England midfield will need to starve him of space to operate in and get in his face. This is a task I think Fabio will assign to Barry. If Barry can put the young man off his game, then England will have a lot less to worry about.

2)      Don’t get caught short at the back
England adopted quite a narrow formation against Slovenia with no real wingers. This meant Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson bombing on down the wings and leaving gaps at the back. Germany have more than enough talent and pace to break out from the back at speed, and England will have to be wary if they are caught short of defenders. When the England wing-backs overlap, players like Milner and Barry (should they play) will have to fill in those positions to stop the centre-backs being overrun and outpaced.

3)      Get their heads on the ball
Germany have a lot of height and power from set pieces, so England will have to nullify this threat by tight marking, good awareness, and hunger to get to that ball first. If Mertesacker, Boateng or Klose get their head on it in the area, it could spell trouble for England. Terry and Upson/Carragher will need to show commitment and drive to put in some commanding headers. James will also need to be confident and assertive to come and claim the ball if needs be.

4)      Stop playing the long ball
England play so much better and look far more dangerous when they keep the ball on the deck. After they had scored against Slovenia they really started to open up and play more attacking football. For a period of about twenty minutes they were pinging the ball about to each other at a speed that Slovenia just couldn’t cope with. England really should have had another goal in this period. However, this good period didn’t last for long and they were back to playing their long-ball tactics. This game plan is uninspiring at the best of times, but playing it when your man up top is the diminutive Jermaine Defoe is just plain senseless. England need to have enough confidence about themselves to pass through Germany, not over them.

5)      DON’T let it go to penalties
England have an abysmal record from the penalty spot. It’s a real monkey on their backs and they would do well to avoid them at all costs. Lampard has already got into the spirit by contriving to miss his last two spot-kicks. One in the FA Cup final which went wide and one against Japan in the pre-tournament friendly which he scuffed tamely at the ‘keeper. It’s hard to see how England would overcome their mental block when under such immense pressure.

6)      Stop talking about the England/Germany rivalry
Every England fan is hoping that all the talk of old scores to settle will lead to passion and commitment on the field. However what will probably happen is that it will make the England players even more nervous. The German press have been doing their best to stoke the fire with headlines such as ‘Yes! Jetzt holen wir uns die kleinen Englanderinnen’ (Yes! We’ve landed English girlies) in Berlin’s BZ newspaper. But the truth, as Raphael Honigstein excellently points out in his book ‘Englischer Fussball’, is that Germany really don’t care that much about games against England. Sure, there is some rivalry, but Germany’s real enemies on the football field are the Netherlands. The average person in Germany doesn’t know about the epic final against England in ’66 – it’s just not part of their national psyche like it is in England. England should just take this match like any other. Whilst understanding its importance in the fact that it’s a knock-out round of the World Cup, they should put any thoughts of a grudge match to the side and go in with a clear mind. That’s what the Germans will be doing, and so should England.