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Germany became the latest high-profile nation to crash out of Euro 2020 after suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of England in their knockout stage clash on Tuesday.
The Germans headed into the game following a poor group stage performance, where they managed just one victory from their three games. They finished second with four points in Group F, tied with Portugal. Meanwhile, England finished at the summit of Group D after picking up two wins and one draw from their three group games.
The first half ended goalless with little or no action as both sides opted for a safety-first approach
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However, the game sparked to life in the 75th minute. Raheem Sterling pounced on a low cross from Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw after a neat exchange of passes to open the scoring for England.
Shortly after, Germany had a glorious chance of their own which Thomas Muller squandered. The Bayern Munich man raced past the England defence, but dragged his shot wide when he was one-on-one with Jordan Pickford.
Die Mannschaft were made to pay almost instantly. Tottenham star Harry Kane doubled England’s lead by heading home substitute Jack Grealish’s cross to dash the hopes of the Germans once and for all.
England will now take on Ukraine on July 3 for a place in the Euro 2020 semi-finals. On that note, we look at five talking points from the game.
#5 Germany bow out after unconvincing run at the tournament
Since their World Cup triumph in 2014, Die Mannschaft have been largely disappointing in major tournaments and Euro 2020 was no different.
With the exception of their 4-2 victory over Portugal, the Germans were lackluster in their other matches at Euro 2020. They were also on the brink of elimination in their final Group F encounter against Hungary.
Joachim Low’s men followed that up with another average performance at Wembley against the Three Lions, who capitalized with aplomb.
With Hansi Flick set to replace the departing Low, Germany must go back to the drawing board in order to avoid another underwhelming outing in next year’s World Cup.
#4 Gareth Southgate spot on with his England team selection
England’s lineup was met with great criticism after Gareth Southgate opted to drop big-name players like Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho. The Borussia Dortmund forward failed to make the starting XI for the fourth game running and has registered just 10 minutes of action so far in the tournament.
However, his decision to switch to a three-man defense to match the Germans’ shape paid off brilliantly. England expertly nullified their opposition's attacking threat before running two goals up.
Going forward, the Three Lions boss has proven that he deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt regarding his team selection. The focus will now be to better his side’s fourth-placed finish at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
#3 Raheem Sterling continues to impress at the tournament
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling continued his impressive string of performances as he scored his third goal of Euro 2020 to give England a 1-0 lead.
The 26-year-old reacted fastest to a low, drilled cross from Manchester United full-back Shaw to tuck the ball home from close range.
Sterling was a bright spark for England in the game, constantly trying to make things happen in attack.
He forced the first major save of the game from Manuel Neuer with a right-footed curler from outside the box. Sterling also completed three of his five dribble attempts, while contributing at the defensive end of the pitch as well.
The Manchester City man has scored 75% of England's goal at Euro 2020 so far. His side will hope Sterling's form continues in the quarterfinal against Ukraine.
#2 Harry Kane gets up and running at the Euros
Harry Kane ended his goal drought at Euro 2020 as he opened his account with a brilliant header in the 86th minute to hand England a two-goal advantage.
The Tottenham forward had been a passenger in England’s previous games as he struggled to replicate his club form for the national team.
Against the Germans too, the England skipper failed to hit his stride for most of the game. He also squandered a good chance to open the scoring in the first half.
However, Kane sparked to life after Sterling's opener as England picked up the pace. He then added a goal of his own in the 86th minute. Jack Grealish’s cross after an exchange with Shaw was headed in by the Spurs striker to seal England’s place in the last eig.
Gareth Southgate will hope his star forward builds on that performance as England go in search of their first major tournament victory in years.
#1 England have the Euros final in sight
Following their victory over Germany, England are one of the favorites to make it to the finals of the tournament.
With seven points from their three group games, England finished at the top of Group D. They were three points clear of Croatia and Czech Republic.
The Three Lions have now made it into the quarter-finals of the tournament, where they will take on Ukraine on July 3.
The winner of the quarter-finals then takes on the winner of the second quarter-final tie between Denmark and Czech Republic.
England will not meet any of Italy, Spain or Belgium before the final. As a result, they should have a squad that is energetic and experienced enough to make it to the finals of Euro 2020 at least.
