Franz Beckenbauer: Germany were better than England in every aspect

Beckenbauer has been critical of the England team during the tournament and after Germany’s convincing victory to knock England out he acknowledges that his country took apart their arch-rivals.

"England were overwhelmed - they just could not come to terms with our style of play," Beckenbauer told The Mirror.

"We have taken England apart. We were simply better in every aspect."

Goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski gave Germany an early stranglehold on the match before Matthew Upson halved the advantage later in the first half.

England should have drawn level just a short time later but Frank Lampard’s shot that landed over the line after hitting the underside of the crossbar was not given.

A second half brace from Thomas Muller put the game out of reach for the Three Lions, and Beckenbauer was pleased that the disallowed goal was rendered insignificant by Germany’s second half display.

"The linesman really has to see the that goal which was not given.

"It was a clear goal.

"Fortunately, we added two more, otherwise there would be a lot more discussion about it."