The jingoism has by no means been one way. In 1935, some 2,000 Germany supporters, stereotypically attired in Tyrolean feathered hats, heavy overcoats and binoculars, sang the Nazi hymn, the Horst Wessel Song, on the terraces at Tottenham while the swastika fluttered over north London during a 3-0 defeat by England.

Six decades later, before the Euro 96 semi-final, Piers Morgan's Daily Mirror ran a front-page mock-up of Paul Gascoigne and Stuart Pearce in Second World War helmets with the headline "Achtung! Surrender!" "For you, Fritz," the paper sneered, "ze European Championship is over." Germany won on penalties.

In between those low points, and indeed since, sport has found ways to transcend ideology and nationalism. Seventy years ago, on the same site where Fabio Capello and Joachim Löw's teams will contest this week's friendly, the England players grudgingly gave the "Sieg Heil" salute to Goebbels, Goering and von Ribbentrop as they lorded it in the Fuhrer's box. Stanley Matthews and co went on to trounce the master race 6-3.

Then there was Geoff Hurst's hat-trick in the World Cup final (with an assist from a linesman from Azerbaijan); the extraordinary German recovery from 2-0 down to win the quarter-final four years later (ah, but had Gordon Banks been poisoned?); Chris Waddle blazing over from the spot to settle the 1990 semi-final; Germany's win in the last match at the old Wembley, which prompted Kevin Keegan's emotional resignation; and the incredible, if illusory, 5-1 victory for England in Munich at the start of Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign.

Given the non-competitive status of the fixture, and the need to avoid over-stretching players already on a treadmill of Champions League, Premier League and Bundesliga games, it may be asking too much for any comparable dramas. "Don Fabio" promised to use the match to experiment. At some stage, on Wednesday or in the February friendly against Spain, he will want to try fringe players such as Aston Villa's mobile attackers Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Capello, however, has generated momentum with four wins in as many World Cup qualifiers, with a goal record of 14 for and three against. He will also be keen to maintain continuity, which means keeping the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and 19-year-old Theo Walcott, below, involved if at all possible. Injury, however, has robbed him of Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Ashley and Joe Cole.

The core group of England regulars have been won over by Capello's meticulous professionalism and aura of authority, the latter quality being one that did not spring to mind when assessing Steve McClaren, Eriksson and Keegan. They are particularly impressed by his ability to adapt tactics during a game. Perhaps surprisingly in one or two instances, they also relish the clearly defined boundaries of behaviour laid down by the Italian disciplinarian (which former Arsenal playmaker Aleksandr Hleb, from the old Stalinist republic of Belarus, has bizarrely likened to communism).

That said, there is a danger of England becoming carried away – in the time-honoured manner which many Scots perceive as arrogant – by a clutch of handsome victories. The 4-1 success in Croatia was outstanding by any standard, and the 3-1 win away to a technically accomplished Belarus team also augured well. Yet we have seen false dawns before: after the Michael Owen-led goalfest in Munich, England nearly failed to qualify for Japan/South Korea, whereas Germany went on to reach the final.

Capello has talked of "a new era" for England, and the current, stellar crop of players, steeped in European competition, should not have been on the outside looking in as Germany reached yet another final during Euro 2008. But look behind the dazzling results, and one auspicious display in Zagreb, and there were enough periods of uncertainty to preclude any sense of premature triumphalism. One recalls the barren first half against the park players of Andorra; the way Kazakhstan's rookies created problems at Wembley before a late flurry of goals saw them vanquished 5-1; and an awkward half-hour in Minsk before Belarus were picked off.

The 2001 romp has inspired England's followers to sing "5-1, even Heskey scored". But then their meetings with Germany have often inspired humour as well as hostility. Gary Lineker, in an aside too smart not to have been scripted for him, glumly defined football as "a game of two halves which Germany always win". Terry Venables, pressed to say what he admired most about the team that added to England's "30 years of hurt", replied: "Their results."

He might equally have said "their penalties". The coach to the Euro 96 winners, one Hans-Hubert Vogts, claimed Germany did not practise them, although with characteristic Teutonic efficiency, he gave Andreas Kopke details of the way the England players would send their kicks in a shoot-out. Kopke, who will be in Berlin as Löw's goalkeeping coach, dived the wrong way each time. Finally, famously, he saved one. Gareth Southgate, as Scotland fans may have guessed, was not on Vogts' list.