After a tense and unspectacular start to the match, England qualified for the quarter-finals of Euro football by beating Germany (2-0) on Tuesday June 29 at Wembley Stadium in London , where more than 40,000 jubilant spectators were present.
Thanks to two goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane, the Three Lions bent the Mannschaft with a performance full of promise for the rest of the competition. In addition, Gareth Southgate’s men have still not conceded a single goal in the competition and are now among the big favorites after the elimination of Portugal, France and Germany, especially as the running backs -finals and the final will take place at Wembley, their favorite stadium.
The scoresheet had reserved a half-surprise, confirming rumors in the press about a system change for the English. From a four-man defense, Southgate moved to a three-line. He repositioned Kyle Walker, usually right-back, as center-right, with John Stones between him and Harry Maguire as center-left
A mirror system of that of his opponent and intended to stem the rises of Joshua Kimmich on the right and Robin Gosens on the left. A completely defensible tactical choice, but which made several experts on the plateau roll their eyes by its side “Passive”. However, it turned out to be particularly judicious.
The Three Lions control the game
Applied without being creative, the England team showed a lot of energy and courage in their defense as they advanced, which gave them control of the match, with Germany looking for the hard blow against .
Offensively too, as soon as England had the ball, Kieran Trippier on the right came to play a winger role along the touchline, to push back the German defense and give his midfielders a little more space.
Wembley was right about it, cheering as loudly for scooped balls or failed opposing actions as offensive set pieces or scoring chances.
The first goal also came from a beautiful collective projection forward while the pace of the match seemed to drop a quarter of an hour from the end. At 26, Raheem Sterling has become the new savior of the Three Lions. Author of the winning goal in the first match against Croatia (1-0), then defender of the Mannschaft, with a recovery to six meters on a center of Shaw, unstoppable for Manuel Neuer (1-0, 75e).
A few minutes later, another beautiful sequence put Jack Grealish in orbit on the left side and his balanced center found Harry Kane at six meters. Top scorer of the last World Cup, top scorer and best assistor in the Premier League, the English captain regained his efficiency at the best time, scoring the second goal in the 86e minute.
The Mannschaft in check against Jordan Pickford
This success suffers little from dispute: the Mannschaft has fallen on an impeccable Jordan Pickford since the start of the competition. The Everton goalkeeper, not always so imperial in the club, blocked an attempt by Timo Werner (32e) just like his productions at Chelsea, and he especially had a magnificent reflex at the 48e to keep the 0-0 on a strike from Kai Havertz that he deflected above his bar.
This victory has for Gareth Southgate, the English coach, a very particular taste. At the same Wembley Stadium in 1996, he was Sterling’s age when he stepped forward to take the decisive semi-final penalty against Germany. Goalkeeper Andreas Köpke had stopped him. England had missed ” her “ final.
For Joachim Löw, on the other hand, it is the end of a very rich fifteen-year mandate, but undoubtedly a few years too long with the exit in the first round of the Russian World Cup in 2018 and this elimination which remains below the standards of ‘a team used to the last squares.
In the quarter-finals, on July 3 in Rome, England will meet the winner of the last eighth, between Sweden and Ukraine in the evening in Glasgow.