Germany 1-5 England: Steven Gerrard Masterclass, Michael Owen Hat-Trick & 'Fantasy' Game in Munich

The famous line from Gary Lineker — that football is a simple game in which 22 men chase a ball and, at the end, the Germans win — had become something of a definitive law in the early 2000s.

However, that all changed on September 1, 2001, in front of 63,000 inside Munich's famous Olympiastadion. England produced one of their greatest ever performances as they dominated Germany five-one in their own backyard.

It remains the most improbable scoreline in the fixture's history and that qualifier, in typical fashion, began as damage limitation and ended with Franz Beckenbauer reaching for the word "fantasy".

The Context: A Group England Were Losing

Eleven months earlier, Germany had triumphed over the Three Lions by a single goal in the last match at the old Wembley, as Dietmar Hamann's low free-kick settled it. Kevin Keegan resigned as manager in the dressing room within minutes, which led to Sven-Goran Eriksson taking charge soon after.

The Swede became the first foreigner to manage England, but inherited a campaign that was already slipping away. Germany arrived in Munich six points clear at the top of Group Nine, having played a game more.

Their record was imperious, having lost just one of their previous 60 qualifiers — with a solitary defeat coming during the 1986 World Cup campaign, and they had not tasted defeat at the Olympiastadion since 1973.

In contrast, England had won just one competitive fixture against Germany since the 1966 World Cup final, thanks to Alan Shearer's header at Euro 2000. Eriksson's team included the likes of David Beckham, Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand, but they began as underdogs.

The Game: Six Minutes of Familiar, 84 Minutes of Fantasy

Carsten Jancker scored inside six minutes as a familiar sense of dread set in. Owen then quickly responded to light a fire in the England camp. It was Beckham's free-kick, Gary Neville's header back across, Nick Barmby nodding it down, Owen volleying past Oliver Kahn. The goal of the night came in first-half stoppage time, as a loose German clearance dropped to Steven Gerrard 25 yards out and...well, you know the rest.

"My touch was perfect for once and I got fantastic contact," he later told the FA. "The pitch was wet and I put enough power on it to slide past a top keeper in Oliver Kahn."

That was his first England goal. In the second half, just three minutes after the restart, Beckham crossed, Emile Heskey headed down and Owen made it 3-1. On 66, Gerrard slid Owen through for the hat-trick — the first by an England player against Germany since Geoff Hurst in 1966. Paul Scholes threaded Heskey in on 74 for the fifth. It was the first time Germany had conceded five or more since West Germany lost 6-3 to France in 1958; utter domination in Munich.

The Reaction: 'A New Waterloo'

"Every time we went forward in the second half we looked like we were going to score," Steve McManaman, on from the bench for Barmby, later reflected. Beckham's line was blunter: "We all sat in the dressing room and said: 'What's gone on there?'"

Germany's reckoning from the players, to pundits and to the fans was brutal. "I'd never witnessed such a terrible defeat," Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. "This was a new Waterloo for us."

Beckenbauer was more generous: "I had never seen an England team playing better football. They had pace, aggression, movement and skill. It was fantasy football." Germany's assistant coach Michael Skibbe, called it "a very sobering experience".

England physio Gary Lewin's abiding memory was the away end: "6,000 fans doing Dam Busters behind the goal. It was just incredible." A novelty single, Bell & Spurling's Sven Sven Sven, reached No. 7 that October, and the Golden Generation tag stuck fast.

The Aftermath: What It Actually Bought

England beat Albania 2-0 four days later and Beckham's famous 90th-minute free-kick against Greece salvaged the 2-2 that won the group, saving them from any qualification embarrassment. Germany drew 0-0 with Finland, dropped into a playoff and edged Ukraine.

• Q = Qualified for World Cup 2002
• P = Qualified for World Cup 2002 Play-Off

Then football's usual joke landed. Germany — who were dismissed as the worst side in their history at the time — went onto reach the 2002 final, as Kahn made history as the only goalkeeper to win the Golden Ball.

In contrast, England went out in the quarters. Scuppered by Ronaldinho's looping free-kick over David Seaman. An aging German squad exited Euro 2004 in the group stage, and the DFB's youth overhaul — coaching centres, mandatory academies, the systems Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Löw built on from 2004 — helped rejuvenate a country known for international excellence.

England, meanwhile, endured a torrid spell from then on, only ending in 2018 after a true systemic change in culture. Germany went onto triumph at the World Cup in Brazil, in 2014. Munich was the night both futures were hiding in plain sight — and Germany would not lose another home World Cup qualifier for 20 years. But that night in September 2001 belonged to England.