The UEFA Euro 2020 quarter-final line-up is complete, with England and Ukraine securing the final two spots on June 29. England defeated old rivals Germany while Ukraine dumped Sweden out of the competition with a last-minute goal.
England and Germany renewed their rivalry of old, when the two teams met at Wembley for the Euro 2020 Round-of-16. Gareth Southgate decided to match his counterpart Joachim Low in terms of the formation, with Luke Shaw and Kieran Trippier functioning as the wingbacks. Bukayo Saka kept his place in the starting eleven, alongside Harry Kane and England’s only goalscorer in the competition to that point, Raheem Sterling.
While there was plenty of talent on display for both sides, the first half remained a cagey affair. Neither side created a huge opening until the very end of the period when the ball deflected into the path of Kane, who was a yard beyond the German defence.
The Tottenham attacker took a touch to move away from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, but as he was about to pull the trigger towards an empty net, a last-second challenge from Mats Hummels saved Germany.
Germany nearly had the breakthrough early in the second period through Kai Havertz. The forward – who was superb all night – smashed a fierce volley towards the England goal but was denied by Jordan Pickford.
England grew into the game following Pickford’s save and were rewarded for their efforts in the 75th minute, when Sterling turned in a Shaw cross. At the other end, Thomas Muller wasted a glorious opportunity to bring the scores level after he shot wide with just Pickford to beat.
England capitalized on Germany’s troubles in front of goal and scored their second in the 86th minute. Shaw won the ball on the halfway line before playing it to Jack Grealish, who crossed it towards Kane. The England captain made no mistake from close range.
Two goals were enough for the Three Lions on the night to secure passage to the next round, where they will meet Ukraine.
Andriy Shevchenko-led side beat Sweden 2-1 after extra time in their match, with Oleksandr Zinchenko scoring one and assisting another. Sweden had equalized initially through Emil Forsberg after falling behind before he hit the framework twice.
Marcus Danielson received a red card in extra time, and Artem Dovbyk capitalized fully by scoring the winner in the 120th minute.
