Should Joachim Löw’s side reach the final in Johannesburg on July 11, most Germans would show a red card to a potential night of passion in favour of the chance to see their team in action on television.

In a survey for the Reader’s Digest magazine, only five percent of those questioned would prefer a night between the sheets with their loved one to watching Germany contest the World Cup final.

And only an emergency would stop 52 percent watching the final live, while a fifth of all those surveyed said not even that excuse would prevent them being glued to the television, should Germany reach the final.

But 38 percent of those questioned said they were not interested in football.

However, Germany’s success on the field can turn up the heat in the nation’s bedrooms: there were a flood of new-born babies here nine months after the national side finished third at the World Cup four years ago.