I don't know how much this is present in US culture, but in the UK the prospect "beating" Germany in any form makes politicians and media outlets of a more nati

I don't know how much this is present in US culture, but in the UK the prospect "beating" Germany in any form makes politicians and media outlets of a more nationalistic bent very excited indeed. That they are also very fond of references to Britain's "finest hour" in World War II probably gives away the reason why. It probably also helps that Germany has the kind of onshore manufacturing economy coveted by those same people(even if this is now turning into a problem) whereas the UK is actually more service orientated. There is no football match that an English football fan will more willingly talk about than Germany's 5-1 home defeat against England during the 2002 World Cup qualifiers!