It was 1930 before England fielded a full international side against Germany. Between 1899 and 1901, prior to the formation of a German national team, there were five unofficial international matches between teams representing the 2 nations (the English sides won all 5 with an aggregate of 52-4) . Between 1908 and 1913 the England Amateur XI had played Germany 4 times (3 wins, 1 draw , for 19, against 3) By 1930 however, the British were beginning to acknowledge the advances made by continental sides and were prepared to meet them on an equal footing, a fact borne out by The Football Association selection committee's decision to field the XI that had beaten Scotland in April for the friendlies against Germany and Austria.
In the days leading up to this match the German media took the stance that Germany would not capitulate to the English, and that if they approached the match with self belief that they could win.
The match was played at Berlin's Grunewaldstadion (Deutsches Stadion) watched by a crowd of 50,000. Germany played in red jerseys and England wore their usual white.
Germany
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England
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Willibald Kreß
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Rot-Weiß
Frankfurt
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G
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Harry Hibbs
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Birmingham
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Franz Schütz
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Eintracht
Frankfurt
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RB
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Roy Goodall
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Huddersfield Town
|
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Hans Stubb
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Eintracht
Frankfurt
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LB
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Ernie Blenkinsop
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Sheffield Wednesday
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Conny Heidkamp
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Bayern
Munich
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RH
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Alf Strange
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Sheffield Wednesday
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Ludwig Leinberger
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SpVgg.Fürth
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CH
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Maurice Webster
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Middlesbrough
|
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Hugo Mantel
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Eintracht
Frankfurt
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LH
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Billy Marsden
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Sheffield Wednesday
|
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Josef Bergmaier
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Bayern
Munich
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OR
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Sammy Crooks
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Derby County
|
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Josef Pöttinger
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Bayern Munich
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IR
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David Jack
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Arsenal
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Ernst Kuzorra
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Schalke
04
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CF
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Vic Watson
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West Ham United
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Richard Hofmann
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Dresdner
SC
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IL
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Joe Bradford
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Birmingham
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Ludwig Hofmann
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Bayern Munich
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OL
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Ellis Rimmer
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Sheffield Wednesday
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Joe Bradford gave England the lead in the 11th minute. Richard Hofmann leveled 10 minutes later, only for Bradford to restore England's lead after 25 minutes.
Marsden suffered concussion, and did not come out for the second half. With England reduced to 10 men Hofmann netted twice (49th and 60th minutes) to complete his hat trick. David Jack headed the equaliser 8 minutes from time.
Hofmann
Hofmann was a prolific scorer: 24 goals in 25 Internationals. In September 1930 he surpassed Gottfried Fuchs' record (15). The hat trick against England was his third. He scored 5 international hat tricks in successive seasons (1928-32).
