ENGLAND 2-0 GERMANY
Sterling nets England’s opener
- Goals: Raheem Sterling (€9.7m), Harry Kane (€11.5m)
- Assists: Luke Shaw (€6.1m), Jack Grealish (€7.6m)
Raheem Sterling (€9.7m) put himself on many a Fantasy shopping list after scoring his third goal in four games in a 2-0 win over Germany.
The England defence will also be hot property, with Gareth Southgate’s unit still the only team yet to concede a goal at EURO 2020.
“The players are incredible. Right the way through the team. The players that came on. They were aggressive with the pressure. We felt that was really important. That is why we changed the system, not to sit back but to be aggressive on their wing-backs, to make sure that all over the field we could get pressure on them. We felt speed in behind Harry Kane would cause them problems and I thought (Bukayo) Saka and Sterling right from the start created that jeopardy in their backline.” – Gareth Southgate
Luke Shaw (€6.1m) assisted Sterling’s opener, while also having a big hand in the build up to Harry Kane‘s (€11.5m) strike so could have a decent upside if he starts next time out.
Jordan Pickford (€5.7m), Harry Maguire (€5.5m) and John Stones (€5.7m) are all near-certain starters in the last-eight clash with the Ukraine too, barring injury or illness.
“I think we have excellent defenders in this country. Sometimes with all the scrutiny that the Premier League gets every goal gets analysed and people pick up on the slightest things We have excellent defenders and a magnificent goalkeeper behind us. It is nice to keep clean sheets, it’s what we are here to do. It’s not the defence, it’s the team; it’s a unit. We are a solid base, we defend set pieces really well at the moment and it comes from the forwards and it builds back to the defenders heading the ball out of the box.” – Harry Maguire
Sterling began the move which led to his 76th-minute goal, driving through midfield before finding Kane.
The striker touched the ball to substitute Jack Grealish (€7.6m), who laid it off for the onrushing Shaw.
Shaw’s low cross was the ideal ball to allow Sterling nip ahead of Germany’s defensive line finish past Manuel Neuer (€6.0m) with one touch.
Thomas Muller (€9.0m) missed a huge chance after 80 minutes following a loose ball from Sterling.
Kai Havertz (€9.2m) picked up possession before setting Muller away behind the England defence. The striker fired wide of Pickford’s right-hand post as the goalkeeper rushed out to meet Muller.
Kane settled the tie after 86 minutes, with Shaw pivotal once more. The left-back won the ball in midfield before returning the favour to Grealish by setting the Villa man away down the left.
Grealish’s cross was headed in brilliantly by a stooping Kane to give Neuer no chance in the Germany goal.
Kane gets low to head past Neuer
Kane showed his resilience at Wembley, netting his first goal of the tournament despite persisting through a knock from earlier in the match.
“I took a blow to the knee but I knew it was just contact. You have to be ready for the next chance. Jack [Grealish] put in a great cross and I was able to put it in. All strikers want to score goals. It was good to score my first in the tournament and hopefully I can score more from now until the end.” – Harry Kane
On Grealish’s performance after his introduction, Southgate remained reticent to pin him down as a reliable starter, despite his impact:
“I think with Jack, as with a few others, we just have to make sure we maximise what is possible with him and Hendo (Jordan Henderson) who came into the game. They both missed 14 weeks of the season. These games are unbelievably intense, with and without the ball. We also know he is a really special talent and he can have a big impact the way he did.”
England XI: (3-4-3) Pickford; Maguire, Stones, Walker; Shaw, Rice (Henderson 86′), Phillips, Trippier; Sterling, Kane, Saka (Grealish 68′).
Germany XI (3-4-3): Neuer; Rudiger, Hummels, Ginter (Can 86′); Gosens (Sané 86′), Kroos, Goretzka, Kimmich; Havertz, Werner (Gnabry 67′), Muller (Musiala 90+1′).
JUST EAT’S KEY TAKEAWAYS
Tuck into some tournament data in association with Just Eat, partners of UEFA EURO 2020 and your first stop for home delivery meals.
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In a game of few opportunities, England’s big chance count (3) from a total of five attempts told the story of a clinical attacking performance.
SWEDEN 1-2 UKRAINE (A.E.T)
Dovbyk scores a late, late winner
- Goals: Emil Forsberg (€7.9m) | Oleksandr Zinchenko (€5.5m), Artem Dovbyk (€5.5m)
- Assists: Alexander Isak (€8.0m) | Andriy Yarmolenko (€8.7m), Zinchenko
Oleksandr Zinchenko (€5.5m) scored in the first half and assisted a dramatic late winner as the Ukraine overcame 10-man Sweden in extra time at Hampden Park.
With full time of the added 30-minute period approaching, Zinchenko swung in a cross which was buried into the net by substitute Artem Dovbyk (€5.5m).
Marcus Danielson (€4.8m) had seen red in the first period of extra time for a challenge deemed reckless after an on-field review.
Zinchenko puts the Ukraine ahead
Zinchenko powered home on the half volley after an Andriy Yarmolenko (€8.7m) cross to the back post to give Ukraine an early lead.
Emil Forsberg (€7.9m) struck from outside the box just before the interval to level matters. After a square pass from Isak, the midfielder’s powerful left-footed shot took a nick off a Ukraine defender before flying into the net.
After the Ukraine hit the post after 54 minutes, Sweden counter-attacked only to see Forsberg hit the opposition post.
The midfielder then struck the crossbar in the 69th minute but neither side could find a way to stop the tie going to extra time.
With England waiting in the last eight, Ukraine assets may not be too popular and Yarmolenko was forced off with an injury just before the second period of extra time.
Sweden XI (4-4-2): Olsen; Augustinsson (Bengtsson 82′), Lindelof, Danielson, Lustig (Krafth 82′); Forsberg, Ekdal, Olsson (Helander 100′), S Larsson (Claesson 96′); Kulusevski (Quaison 95′), Isak (Berg 96′).
Ukraine XI (3-5-2): Bushchan; Matviyenko, Kryvtsov, Zabarnyi; Zinchenko, Stepanenko (Makarenko 93′), Sydorchuk (Bezus 117′), Shaparenko (Malinovskyi 60′), Karavaev; Yaremchuk (Besedin 91′, Tsygankov 100′), Yarmolenko (Dovbyk 105′).
JUST EAT’S KEY TAKEAWAYS
Tuck into some tournament data in association with Just Eat, partners of UEFA EURO 2020 and your first stop for home delivery meals.
Download the App: App Store | Google Play
Players sorted by touches in the final third
Only Forsberg (49) had more final-third touches than Zinchenko (48) over the 120 minutes. The Manchester City defender operated at left wing-back in a changed formation for Andriy Shevchenko.
Our Euro 2020 Fantasy coverage
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Group A: Turkey | Italy | Wales | Switzerland
Group B: Denmark | Finland | Belgium | Russia
Group C: Netherlands | Ukraine | Austria | North Macedonia
Group D: England | Croatia | Scotland | Czech Republic
Group E: Spain | Sweden | Poland | Slovakia
Group F: Hungary | Portugal | France | Germany
BY POSITION: Goalkeepers | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards
2 years, 10 months agoOn reflection definitely saving wc. It's actually quite hard to afford a good semi finals team without major surgery if England beat Ukraine and if they don't a wc in hand will be golden anyway. Belguim beating Italy would hurt a lot of teams too as KDB Hazard Lukaku very expensive.