They decide the outcome of the games

Mention 1966 in Germany and everyone will inform you that the third England goal -- a slammer against the cross bar which bounced down, didn't go in. Mention that it doesn't matter because England went on to score a fourth goal in their 4-2 victory that clinched them the World Cup, and you get told that they wouldn't have scored the fourth goal if the third one had been disallowed.

Defeating England in the World Cup isn't the flawless victory here, although from the odds it looks like an uphill battle -- from even stevens at 11/2, Germany dropped to 7/1 this week, and that's from our English friends at Ladbrokes. Nobody knows more than Germany that odds mean nothing, especially when the best is yet to come, but what I was trying to say in the first place was that that won't be the real victory.

Of course not! Out of our hands! The real battle -- is for humor! It always was. It's worth a billion Euros, charms women out of their de rigueur, and lubricates that gears that crank the Earth about its long orbit. Torsun has already struck a blow by adapting "Ten German Bombers" for home use. Should Germans out-shout their English counterparts, or think of more demeaning songs -- what victory, thus? Take your history, and your foibles, like plucky lads, and when you strike back, do so with your (apparently superior) wits!

The problem: the two teams are, and always have been, strong. And their different specialities are vaguely indicative of their differing national characters. When's that clash scheduled to end?