All easy for the Southgate boys, thanks to Kane’s brace and goals from Maguire and Henderson
England are the last semi-finalists of Euro 2020. The Southgate boys beat Ukraine 4-0 and on Wednesday they will play the access to the Wembley final against Denmark. At the Olimpico in Rome everything was easy for the English, who unlocked the match in the 4th minute thanks to Kane and close it at the beginning of recovery. At 46 ‘ Maguire doubles his head, at 50 ‘the three of a kind by the Spurs attacker always head, as well as the four of a kind Henderson (63′).
THE MATCH
All too easy for England, which literally tears Ukraine to pieces and qualifies for the semifinals, which will be played at Wembley, the temple of English football. If up to now Sterling and his teammates had never impressed, tonight at the Olimpico the English played a great match and now, also for the fact of playing at home, they are probably the big favorites for the final victory. Kane’s goal after just 4 minutes undoubtedly facilitated the practice, as well as a Ukraine really down in the dumps and too inattentive on set kicks, from where two more goals came. And precisely the newfound vein of the Tottenham striker, in addition to a steel defense (still no goals conceded), makes the English people dream, ready to push the Southgate team towards a triumph never achieved before, given that the best results are a third place in 1968 and the semifinals of this year and 1996.
Sheva changes only one man compared to Sweden: Mykolenko takes the place of Stepanenko, with Zinchenko returning to midfield. It will still be 3-5-2. Still bench for the Atalanta Malinovskyi. Southgate makes two changes compared to the 11 that started the match with Germany: out Trippier and the injured Saka and in Mount and Sancho, the latter for the first time in the holder. The pattern also changes: back to 4-2-3-1 after the 3-4-3 seen against the Germans. At the first action, after not even 4 ‘of play, the British unlock it: Sterling vertically for Kane, who in a slip and on the tip makes Bushchan dry. The race immediately starts uphill for Ukraine, which had prepared a containment and quick restarts race. At 17 ‘a Walker error triggers Yaremchuk, Pickford saves himself for a corner. However, the English have the best chances to double: on 29 ‘Kane hits a free kick from Shaw with his head high, 4 minutes later Bushchan instinctively rejects a blow from the edge of Rice. Sheva loses Kryvtsov through injury: in his place Tsygankov, an outside striker, with the passage to the defense at 4. The Ukrainians are more enterprising and in the 43 ‘Shaparenko scares Pickford with a shot that ends just wide.
Unfortunately for the Ukrainian fans, however, the start of the second half is a nightmare, even worse than the start of the first half, and within 5 ‘England closes the match and qualification. Too superior in high balls the English, who first with Maguire (46 ‘) and then with Kane (50’) pierce the poor Bushchan twice. The Tottenham striker has definitively left behind a very subdued start to the European championship and in the 62nd minute touches the hat-trick with a left-footed volley put in a corner by the Dynamo Kiev goalkeeper. Appointment with poker postponed for a few seconds, given that Henderson (who entered a few minutes for Rice) left all alone in the middle of the area still leading is not wrong. With the result in the safe, Southgate can rest some big players: first the triple change Rashford, Trippier and Bellingham for Sterling, Shaw and Phillips, then at 73 ‘Kane deserves the standing ovation of the Roman public (in his place Calvert-Lewin) . The remaining minutes are just academy: Sheva comes home, the British go back to Wembley and they are really scary.
THE TABLE
UKRAINE-ENGLAND 0-4
Ukraine (3-5-2): Bushchan 6; Zabarnyi 5, Kryvtsov 5 (35 ‘Tsygankov 5), Matviyenko 4.5; Karavaev 5, Sydorchuk 5 (19 ‘st Makarenko 5), Shaparenko 5, Zinchenko 5, Mykolenko 5; Yarmolenko 5, Yaremchuk 5. Available: Sobol, Sudakov, Stepanenko, Marlos, Pyatov, Bezus, Zubkov, Trubin, Tymchyk, Dovbyk. All.: Shevchenko 5
England (4-2-3-1): Pickford 6,5; Walker 6, Stones 6,5, Maguire 7, Shaw 7,5 (20′ st Trippier 6); Rice 6,5 (11′ st Henderson 6,5), Phillips 6 (20′ st Bellingham 6); Sancho 6, Mount 6, Sterling 6,5 (20′ st Rashford 6); Kane 8 (28′ st Calvert-Lewin 6). Available: Ramsdale, Johnstone, Grealish, Mings, Coady, Chilwell, Foden. All.: Southgate 7
Referee: Brych (Germania)
Markers: 4′ e 5′ st Kane (I), 1′ st Maguire (I), 18′ st Henderson (I)
Ammonites: –
Expelled: –
Note: –
THE STATISTICS
• England are the second team to have kept a clean sheet in all of the first five matches of a World or European tournament after Italy in 1990.
• Tonight is England’s biggest European victory and Ukraine’s biggest defeat between World Cups and Europeans (like the 4-0 knockout against Spain in 2006).
• England have scored four goals in a knockout phase of the World Cup or the European Championship for the second time, following the 1966 World Cup final against Germany (4-2).
• Only Yugoslavia (13 at Euro 2000) have conceded more goals in a European championship than Ukraine: 10, on a par with Yugoslavia at Euro 1984.
• England have won three straight European games for the first time; in particular, he had not succeeded in a major competition since the 1990 World Cup.
• England are the first team to head three goals in a single game in European history.
• England are the first team to have scored two goals in the first five minutes of the second half of a European Championship game.
• Jordan Henderson scored his first major international goal in his 62nd appearance, the longest wait for a player in the history of the English club – overtaking Sol Campbell, who scored on his 47th appearance for the Three Lions.
• Harry Kane has joined Alan Shearer for goals scored in major competitions (World / European) with England: nine, behind only Gary Lineker (10).
• Harry Kane is the fourth England player to score a double at the European Championships and the first to do so in the knockout stage.
• Raheem Sterling provided six assists for Harry Kane: he is the player to have served a teammate with England multiple times in all competitions in the 21st century.
• Luke Shaw boasts three assists at Euro 2020, no English player has ever done better in a European – like David Beckham who served three assists at Euro 2000.
• Kane’s first goal (3:32) is England’s fastest at the European Championships since Michael Owen’s goal (2:25) at Euro 2004 against Portugal.
• Gareth Southgate is the second English manager to lead England to the semi-finals in a major competition (World / European) after Alf Ramsey in 1966 and 1968.
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