Mertesacker was called up for the 2012 European Championship but spent the whole tournament on the bench as an unused substitute due to the emergence of youngsters Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber. He broke his seven-year goal drought for the national team when he scored his second international goal for Germany on 17 October 2012, in a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Sweden. On 13 September 2013, he scored his third goal for Germany against the Faroe Islands. On 19 November 2013, Mertesacker captained the side and also scored the winning goal as Germany beat England 1–0 at Wembley Stadium in a friendly match to mark the 150th anniversary of The Football Association.