England may have better chance of beating Germany after avoiding ‘ITV curse’

The BBC and ITV have confirmed their broadcast schedule for the second round of Euro 2020 – and it’s raised some superstitions amongst England fans.

There is plenty of excitement as Germany visit Wembley Stadium for their match against England, and the local fans believe they can get one over Joachim Low’s team due to the fixture being selected for BBC coverage.

Since the 1998 FIFA World Cup, there is a belief that whenever England are broadcast on the BBC, they stand a better chance of winning than when they’re on ITV.

Their record since 1998 on the BBC stands at 15 wins, three draws and four losses out of 22 matches, while on ITV, it’s 25 matches, five wins, 12 draws and eight losses, including their two most recent games: a draw against Scotland and win against the Czech Republic.

England's win percentage in games on ITV is down at just 20.8 percent, but on the BBC it's a high 68.1 percent.

To put into context: England’s win over the Czech Republic was their first in 90 minutes on ITV since Jude Bellingham was eight years of age, according to Twitter user Lewis (@LewisMatthews1) – Bellingham is now 17 and playing for England at a major tournament.

Matthews also went on to dissect the quality of matches shown on ITV compared to the BBC to debunk any myths that the more difficult games were broadcast on the former.

The user discovered that the average FIFA ranking of opponents of England games broadcast on ITV was 21, while on the BBC, it was 19, proving that England are more likely to beat tougher opposition when on the BBC.

What do you make of England's chances against Germany? Let us know in the comments below.

The previous four tournament games England have won on ITV in 90 minutes before their success over the Czech Republic were Germany at Euro 2000 (which was also broadcast on the BBC), Switzerland at Euro 2004, Trinidad and Tobago at the World Cup in 2006 and Ukraine at Euro 2012.

In the 2010 World Cup, however, Germany 4-1 win over England was broadcast on the BBC, so there might be some good omens for Low's team.

Now, with Germany set to visit in a crucial match and the game on the BBC, they will hope their TV broadcaster can provide some luck inspire them to success.

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