England’s UEFA EURO 2020 Last 16 win over Germany was a welcome moment of national ecstasy, one of those guttural releases that can threaten a sting in the tail for anyone bold enough to get carried away.
Sure enough, the message in the immediate aftermath of the 2-0 victory at Wembley was one of businesslike acknowledgement as much as outright celebration. While the suggestion that the result would mean nothing if England were eliminated in the quarter-final appeared negative, that really is the nature of these middle rounds in tournament football.
The last eight took England to Rome for their only EURO 2020 game anywhere but Wembley, in which they faced a Ukraine side battle-hardened by 120 draining minutes in the previous round. They scored the winner against Sweden in the 121st. England were favourites, we were told, but Andriy Shevchenko’s team would be difficult to knock out by virtue of their sheer determination to stay in.
Gareth Southgate made changes to his starting line-up again, reverting to the back four that took England through the group stage. Harry Maguire and John Stones were flanked by respective club colleagues Luke Shaw and Kyle Walker, with Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips both beginning the game on a yellow card in midfield.
Captain Harry Kane started up front boosted by his late goal against Germany, and England’s reshuffled selection brought Mason Mount and Jadon Sancho back into the attack alongside Raheem Sterling.
The return of Mount, a reliable and composed presence in attacking midfield, was no surprise – he is, after all, one of Southgate’s most trusted charges – but the introduction of Sancho for his first tournament start was unexpected.
The timing invited the playful accusation that Sancho signed for Manchester United and was immediately given the starting berth his Borussia Dortmund form had deserved much earlier, but the ability to bring him in for the fifth match of the competition is an illustration of England’s depth. Southgate did so almost nonchalantly and England were richly rewarded.
Their 4-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico was nothing short of a ruthless demolition. Defensively, England were already established as one of the tournament’s most robust contenders. Their attacking ability clicked in Rome and Ukraine were helpless against it. It was as one-sided a knock-out international as you could ever hope to see.
Kane, the confident captain, opened the scoring with just four minutes played. Maguire’s piercing pass found Sterling, who tricked his way inside and reversed a clever pass through Ukraine’s defensive line to pick up Kane’s run. The finish was a formality. Kane had scored twice in ten minutes of play spanning the two knock-out matches and Sterling had an assist to add to the three goals he’d already scored.
After a couple of tame efforts from each side in the first half, two of Sancho’s new United team-mates combined to make it 2-0 in the first minute of the second. In-form left back Shaw whipped in a perfectly placed free kick and Maguire sent a crashing header past Georgiy Bushchan, stranded and static in the Ukraine goal.
Two-goal leads haven’t always got the job done in these European Championships, as Ukraine themselves can testify, but three is a whole new ballgame. England had to wait only four minutes for their third goal and it was Kane again, heading through Bushchan’s legs from close range after Sterling’s brilliant backheeled pass and another laser-guided Shaw cross.
The skipper was firing on all cylinders at last, buoyed by goals as all great strikers are, and he soon came close to a sensational perfect hat-trick. He caught a left-footed volley beautifully and a strong hand from Bushchan was needed to stop it from ripping into the far corner.
England’s fourth arrived with a quarter of the game still to be played, and it was a substitute who applied the vital touch. Mount’s corner was met by Jordan Henderson, who nodded in his first England goal in 62 appearances; no wonder he looked so pleased.
Southgate made a point after the game of celebrating his squad, not just the players who brought a decent Ukraine side to their knees. Henderson scoring was proof that the European Championships are a 26-man job for England, and the manager is clear that all his players are contributing to the effort.
Indeed, he was able to share some minutes around in Rome as the contest gave way to a practice session in the second half. Henderson, Kieran Trippier, Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford and Dominic Calvert-Lewin all played 20 minutes or more off the bench. It was the night’s hidden bonus: how often is a manager able to withdraw his yellow-carded players and dish out a few caps in a major tournament quarter-final?
It was all so disarmingly easy. Pickford, consummate so far this summer, had a couple of wild swings at the ball with the result already beyond doubt, perhaps suggesting that he wasn’t quite at his sharpest with England coasting and precious little expected of him in the second half.
Nevertheless, it was England’s most eye-catching performance of the tournament so far. The win over Germany remains the most impressive, but scoring four goals and brushing off a quarter-final like it was nothing was just as effective a way to lift the spirit of the supporters back home.
In combination, these two demonstrations of England’s prowess represent a sense that it’s all coming together at the right time and at both ends of the field, that Southgate had it planned this way all along.
England played within themselves but won their group, then shifted up a gear to see off Germany and send Ukraine packing. There’s been no drama, no extra time and penalties, no suspensions and no injuries. There’s been ample opportunity to rest players and bring others on as substitutes.
Even with no goals conceded, there looks to be more to come from what’s proved to be a very fine England side. The Wembley factor could play a part, of course, but so much more important is the fact that Southgate has brought his team this far and they’re fresher, fitter, brighter and less weary than the three other semi-finalists.
His next challenge is to ensure England go further than two of them and book a place in the European Championships final for the very first time. With Denmark in fine fettle themselves, that will be easier said than done.
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Chris Nee
@SphinxFtbl