Germany thrash England to reach last eight

Germany, fuelled by a second half double from Thomas Mueller, crushed long-standing rivals England 4-1 in a controversy-filled World Cup encounter on Sunday to book a spot in the last eight.

England were denied an equalizer with the game at 2-1 late in the first half, when a shot from Frank Lampard hit the crossbar and the ball bounced well behind the goal line, but the referee waved play on.

In a frantic first half Germany took a deserved 2-0 lead, repeatedly exposing their opponents' defensive shortcomings with some mesmerizing high-paced play.

Miroslav Klose, back from a one-match suspension, snatched the lead in the 20th minute, catching the English defence napping and chasing down German keeper Manuel Neuer's deep goal kick to slot home his 12th goal in World Cup tournaments.

They could have added another just before the half hour mark but Klose was denied by keeper David James.

Striker Lukas Podolski made amends for his teammate's miss in the 32nd minute with a fierce low drive after a sublime combination of passes via Mueller and Mesut Ozil to give them a two-goal cushion.

Lampard failed to pull one back minutes later, firing at Neuer from close range and Philipp Lahm clearing in front of goal. But Matthew Upson did get on the scoresheet, heading in a Steven Gerrard cross, with Neuer completely missing the ball, to cut the deficit in the 37th minute.

England should have been awarded a second goal only a minute later when Lampard's shot bounced off the bar and well behind the goal line but Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda waved to play on.

England came out fighting in the second half and hit the bar again with a fierce Lampard free kick seven minutes after the restart but Mueller ended their hopes with two goals in three minutes to cap a memorable performance for the youngster.