June 23, (THEWILL)- Another England win, another Raheem Sterling goal, was how the final game of Group D played out at the Euros 2020 on Tuesday night with the Manchester City forward heading the Three Lions into an early lead that was all England needed to seize leadership of the group into the next rounds.
Gareth Southgate’s charges beat the Czech Republic at Wembley as they had to overtake the Czechs and claim first place in Group D. And once more, Southgate’s confidence in Sterling was repaid with the industrious display of the 26-year-old.
Sterling had the first chance of goal in the fixture when, in just the second minute of the game, he was clear on goal but saw his attempt come off the point rather than go into the net. It marked a bright England start to the game where Jack Grealish was at the heart of everything positive happening in the middle of the park.
Grealish was instrumental to the single winning goal as well. He controlled a slightly over-hit pass from the creative run of the inspiring Bukayo Saka and, twisting and turning down the left, Grealish squared the ball to the far post where Sterling nodded home in the 12th minute.
Central striker for England, Harry Kane, was a constant threat down the middle but Tomáš Vaclík, in the Czech goal, was prepared to keep Kane’s name from the scoresheet. The first half alone, in the 26th and 43rd minutes, only the keeper’s reflexes prevented Kane from adding to the scores.
The Czech lacked the goal finishing to level the scores when they had chances of their own. Tomáš Holeš let fly towards goal needing Jordan Pickford to execute a flying stop to keep England’s slim advantage. Another chance went begging when the ball shot past the English goal by inches from the boot of Tomáš Souček, defensive midfielder at London club West Ham United.
There was a noticeable decrement in the tempo of the overall pace of the match in the second half possibly with the consideration of both teams that they had already guaranteed their qualification for the next rounds. Both managers made substitutions that allowed, in England’s case, the introduction of a player many were happy to see: Jadon Sancho.
Yet, the confidence of a guaranteed slot in the next rounds began to crumble before the Czechs, who started the day at the summit of the group. In the other final day fixture of the group, Croatia had taken the lead against the Scots placing the Croatians ahead of the Czechs in the group standings.
It fired up the determination of the Czechs to score against the Three Lions to improve their chances. Substitute Tomáš Pekhart very nearly gave the Czech the goal they were desperate for when his shot flashed just past the post with two minutes of regulation time left.
England even had the ball in the net again before that in the 86th minute but it was correctly ruled out for offside against Jordan Henderson. It meant the game ended with another solitary Sterling goal and England claimed the top spot. They will face runners-up from Group F in the next round at Wembley on Tuesday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
