The Richard Spooner Column: Chamber 2, Germany 0�

Admittedly, this might be stretching the point a little. But didn 't Jack Grealish play a major part in both goals when England beat Germany 2-0 in the Euro 2020 clash at Wembley on Tuesday?

And doesn 't the second-half substitute captain Aston Villa? And aren 't Aston Villa 1813 Club members of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce?

Ipso facto: Chamber 2, Germany 0.

Jack 's heroics were the prime source of England reaching the quarter-finals against Ukraine in Rome tomorrow.

Our progress to the last eight takes me back to 1966 when England recorded their last victory in a major competition. This was the World Cup Final, also at Wembley, against West Germany, representing only half of the nation as it stands today.

I was in a Calais wine bar on that balmy afternoon, rather disturbed by the fact that the locals who were watching the black and white television along with me and my fellow tourists rather ungratefully seemed to want the Germans to win.

Anyway, history shows that we triumphed 4-2 so we decided to catch the next ferry and head into London for an evening of celebration.

Now, remember, this was swinging London, capital of a country that at the time seemed like the centre of the universe. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones had taken the global music scene by storm, Carnaby Street was the centre of the fashion world led by Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton, the sexual revolution was also in full swing, as was the anti-nuclear movement.

There was also a revolution against what can only be described as the rather staid fare served up on radio. So-called pirate radio flourished with stations like Radio Caroline floating in the English Channel while beaming music to the yoof of the day.

So we headed to the big city to enjoy this youth-driven revolution and take full advantage in what was described as the capital of fun-loving hedonism.

Sorry, I 'm getting carried away. But life had taken a turn for the better and England were the world champions!

The main damp squib in 1966 was that we still couldn 't win Wimbledon. The last British man to do so was Fred Perry 30 years earlier and we had to wait until 2013 for Andy Murray to take the title for the first time.

Of course, it was only three years later in 1969 that Birmingham 's very own Ann Jones beat Billie Jean King to win the women 's title.

So, you get the picture. Britain in the Sixties was the place to be - and I can remember them, which according to legend means I wasn 't there.

But July, 2021, has brought that atmosphere and the memories flooding back. Today, Andy Murray will also attempt to roll back the years and again reach the second week of Wimbledon after beating, yes you have guessed it, a German.

Now we can only hope that the Chamber 's England player can turn on the magic again tomorrow against Ukraine and steer us into the Euro 2020 semi-finals.

And, while we offer up our prayers, we could also express the hope that Villa are not minded to take that £88 million temptation from Manchester City in return for his services�

JL