England show great maturity to beat Germany

30/06/21 2075

On Tuesday night, England progressed to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020, beating old rivals Germany 2-0 at Wembley.

Once again it was a measured, rather than magic display from Gareth Southgate’s team, who are yet to concede a goal during the tournament.

England head coach Southgate was criticised by some for naming what was perceived as a defensive starting line-up.

However, the system did the trick, as although England were not sparkling in attack, the Three Lions mostly nullified the German attack, apart from a few chances that is.

In the past England teams have had the battling qualities, but not the attacking composure. That changed against Germany, as Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane took their chances for the only goals of the game.

Luck was on their side on one occasion when the usually reliable Thomas Muller sprinted through on goal only to fire wide of Pickford’s goal when one-on-one.

In truth, there was very little in the game, but England should be praised for the mature display that they produced in a massive game.

The likes of Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips were once again solid in the centre of the pitch, while left wing-back Luke Shaw contributed to both goals. Before he went off Bukayo Saka also caused Germany problems.

However, the player who is fast becoming England’s talisman at Euro2020 is Manchester City’s, Raheem Sterling. The former Liverpool star had not always been in the Citizens team last season.

There were even calls for him not to be in the starting line-up at the beginning of the competition. He has answered his doubters with three goals in four games during Euro2020, repaying the faith shown in him by his national team boss.

The tournament is far from over and there is still plenty of work to do for Southgate and his team.

However, if Tuesday night’s performance is anything to go by then the Three Lions have a big opportunity this summer to end their 55-year wait for a major international trophy.