England will play Germany in their Euro 2020 last-16 match after a rollercoaster night of football saw Hungary suffer late heartbreak to miss out on qualification.
England’s last-16 opponents had changed five times throughout the 90 minutes of both games, with every team in the Group of Death due to play Gareth Southgate’s men at one point or another.
For much of the night it seemed as though it would be Hungary, who twice led against Germany, but Leon Goretzka’s 84th-minute equaliser spared German blushes and set up a mouthwatering clash with England at Wembley on Tuesday.
The 2-2 result in Budapest meanwhile meant England avoided games against France and Portugal as they went through in first and third place respectively while Germany finished in second.
It was a remarkable night in Group F, with plenty of drama and twists and turns which almost saw Hungary pull off the impossible by qualifying at the expense of Germany.
Southgate and Co would have had one eye on both games as they waited to discover who they would face in the next round after sealing qualification earlier this week with the 1-0 win over Czech Republic – and looked set to receive a favourable tie against Hungary for the majority of the evening.
Hungary took a shock lead through Adam Szalai before Kai Havertz netted an equaliser shortly after the hour mark. But within one minute of conceding, Hungary scored again to go 2-1 up, this time through Andras Schafer, as they stood on the brink of a famous victory.
With France and Portugal drawing, Germany were heading out with a few minutes remaining but Goretzka stepped up to save their skin and book an eagerly-anticipated game with England.
It will be the latest episode in this historical fixture and the eighth time these two countries have met at a major tournaments.
The psychological edge will very much lie with Germany if past results are anything to go by, with England winning just two and losing four times against them at European Championships and World Cups, drawing the other one.
BBC pundit Danny Murphy however believes England were better off getting Germany than world champions France.
‘From the games I’ve seen, I would rather have Germany in the next round than France,’ the former Three Lions star said.
‘I don’t think if you’re sat in that England squad, we shouldn’t have any fear.
‘We have players that could cause them (Germany) and Portugal problems if we get them at a later stage.’
Germany legend Jurgen Klinsmann believes there is little to separate both sides and is expecting a close affair at Wembley on Tuesday.
He said on BBC: ‘Both Germany and England are in a similar situation, position by position. I think it will be a very even battle and it will be about the form on the day.
‘We saw a different Germany face against Portugal and we saw a different face tonight and England were the same against Scotland and Croatia.
‘We will see a fascinating game in England v Germany because we do not know what to expect.’
COMMENTS