European Football Championship: Sterling sets up England’s group win

In London, the hosts’ goal was scored by Raheem Sterling in the twelfth minute. There was no other great opportunity, although the British displayed an offensive at long range, while the Czechs disappointed in the attack this time with no real chance to equalize.

Unlike the parallel game between Croatia and Scotland, for which it was all or nothing, the starting position was completely relaxed. England and the Czech Republic were known to have been promoted to the Round of 16 even before the start of play. The group’s victory was at stake – an aggressive spectacle was expected. The focus was on the top strikers: Harry Kane and Patrick Schick.

While Schick had scored all three Czech goals during the European Championship, Kane had jammed first. Despite all the media criticism, English team boss Gareth Southgate brought him back to the starting line-up. Kane, the top scorer of the 2018 World Cup (six goals), was allowed to prove himself. Will the Tottenham star return to his normal strength?

The beginning of the measure for the hosts

In fact, the game started with a pole shot and a bang for the hosts at Wembley, but not Kane. Sterling (II) finds his master at pole after a successful pass in the penalty area. Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vklik would have been beaten. England hit the goal cage for the third time during the tournament.

Sterling did the better after just ten minutes. The 26-year-old had no trouble getting the ball behind the line from a very short distance, following a cross from Jack Grealish from the left. The initial invasion by the British was rewarded. The checks, on the other hand, were waiting for the first scoring opportunity that had not yet arisen – not even the skick was dangerous.

czech republic works hard

The British narrowed the rooms. An indirect free kick by Lukas Mesopust (23) in the hands of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was the Czech’s first approach to a straight goal, five minutes later Pickford had to stretch too much to get a clear shot from Tomas Holes from the left corner. Beat. Earlier, Kane, who was typical at first, was 2-0 on his foot: his shot in the penalty area at the far right corner was defused by Vaiklick (26th).

The British played flawlessly, they dominated, although the Czechs were more dangerous in the first half and especially by Tomas Sousek (36th), who missed the target. Sterling, on the other hand, also missed the opportunity. Schick was signed in the first half, Kane had good moments. Either way, England were barely distinguishable from the offensive compared to the previous games, especially in the early stages.

not much going on in half two

After the break, the Southgate team continued to build the momentum, although they could have taken it more comfortably due to the lead. After a counter-attack and the next corner, however, the Czech Republic had their first chance at half-time two. For Pickford, a failed pass or shot attempt by Vladimir Darida (50th) was easy. In return, Kane barely reached a very hard pass in front of the target.

Time was running out for English, who, as group winners in the Round of 16, would now be second in Group F, ie Germany, France, defending champions Portugal or Hungary. In any case, the Czech Republic is to do without defender Jan Boril in the round of 16 – against whom – who saw another yellow card after a foul and was suspended for the round of 16.

The game fell flat from the middle of the second half. With England struggling to play the game, the attack by the Czechs was harmless. Jordan Henderson (87.) scored from offside, which referee Soares Dias could not hide. There was no other chance to score. In the 76th minute, Schick, who had fallen short of expectations, was kicked off the pitch – with a view to the round of 16 to defend himself. Kane played through. He didn’t hit again.

Voices for the game:

Jaroslav Silhavi (Czech Team Principal): “When Saka and Sterling bounced with the ball, it was very difficult to stop them. We completely forgot about Sterling when we accepted. We expected quick pressure and that’s how it turned out England were out for the opening goal and they did. We qualified for the round of 16 before the last game and fought for a group win in a straight duel with England. You have to look at the whole thing positively, we We got what we wanted.”

Gareth Southgate (England team boss): “We started really well, were very stable in the game with and without the ball, for which the players deserve praise because we had to change things overnight because of the personnel change. Czech really good opponents Well, they let the ball circulate well and it’s hard to break. We’ll have more, not everything seems fluid right now, but there are moments when you can see we have a good team. Many good ones There are things, a lot of positive things. We wanted to win the group and stay at Wembley, we got it.”

European Football Championship, Group D, Day 3

Czech Republic – England 0:1 (0:1)

London, Wembley Stadium, 19,100 spectators, SR Dias (POR)

Tor: Sterling (12.)

Czech Republic: Vaclik – Coufal, Celustka, Kalas, Boril – Holes (84./Vydra), Soucek – Masopust (64./Hlozek), Darida (64./Kral), Jankto (46./Sevcik) – Schick (75./Pekhart) ) )

England: Pickford – Walker, Stones (79./Mings), Maguire, Shaw – Phillips, Rice (46./Henderson) – Shaq (84./Sancho), Grealish (68./Bellingham), Sterling (67./Rushford) – ken

Yellow Card: Boril or None

Best: Waiklik, Sausek or Shaw, Grealish, Sterling