Sterling dreamed of scoring for England at Wembley as a child. After all, he grew up not far from the arena in the capital. He has already succeeded in doing this three times at this European Championship finals. The 26-year-old secured the group victory in the preliminary round for the “Three Lions” with his goals against Croatia (1-0) and the Czech Republic (1-0) practically single-handedly.
The Manchester City winger was also successful in the 2-0 win in the round of 16 against Germany. When Sterling hits, Wembley shakes. So it has always been at the EM. “I’ve always said that if I play at a big tournament at Wembley, I’ll score – in my ‘back garden'”, he said after the opening win against the Croatians almost three weeks ago.
Sterling wants to be “King of Wembley”
Sterling is only the second player in the history of England to score the first three goals for the Three Lions in a major event. Before that, only Gary Lineker had succeeded at the 1986 World Cup.
But unlike Lineker in Mexico 35 years ago, Sterling is allowed to play in his living room at this European Championship. Whether Sterling can also do it away at a major tournament remains to be seen on Saturday (9 p.m.).
Then the English will not be allowed to compete in their beloved home ground for the first time, the quarter-finals against Ukraine will instead take place in the Olympic Stadium in Rome. Upon reaching the semi-finals, Sterling would then be able to return to “his garden” with his team, and the final will also be played on July 11 at Wembley. As a child, he dreamed of “one day being the King of Wembley,” Sterling said last.
Ukraine relies on Zinschenko
The fact that at least the chances of returning to London are good is probably the easiest opponent in the quarter-finals. Ukraine made it into the round of 16 in third place in Austria Group C despite a negative goal difference, where in the last minute of extra time they scored a 2-1 goal against Sweden.
Man of the game was a team-mate of Sterling at Manchester City, Alexander Zinchenko. The 24-year-old scored 1-0 and put on the much-acclaimed winning goal. The left-footer, who has not yet missed a European Championship minute, should also move forward against England. In addition to Sterling, he meets other City colleagues in the form of John Stones, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden. “I’ll be so happy to see you, but as soon as we get on the field there will be no friends.”
Young boy Pedri as a Spanish compass
After a difficult start, Spain ran hot at this European Championship, and Pedri, who is only 18 years old, also played a part in this. Four games, all from start to finish. The own goal, which he got credit for when goalkeeper Unai Simon went wrong, is nothing more than a scratch in Pedri’s young vita. “Pedri is the player from Spain”, wrote the sports paper “Marca” on Wednesday. He is a compass for the team at the EM.
The Barcelona player had played four international matches before the European Championship, now his fifth European Championship game awaits with the game on Friday (6:00 p.m.) in St. Petersburg against world champion winner Switzerland.
Pedri is 1.74 meters tall and feels comfortable in attacking midfield. He always looks a bit lanky, if he has the ball, it is paired with the finest technology to create a harmonious, elegant football harmony.
At the EM, Pedri shows off his skills. A unique player, “completely different from everyone else we have,” emphasized coach Luis Enrique recently, who is counting on this teenager for the European Championship mission just as much as the coach of the Spanish Olympic team: Because Pedri is also for the football tournament in Tokyo already set.
Shaqiri is not just supposed to replace Xhaka as captain
The Swiss have to do without Granit Xhaka in the duel with the Spaniards. The Arsenal legionnaire is missing because of a yellow card suspension, the midfielder bought the second box in the sensation against world champions France. In the win on penalties, Xhaka was one of the best Swiss on the field.
As a substitute captain, Xherdan Shaqiri will lead the Confederates onto the lawn. “I am proud to be able to lead the team. But nothing changes for me on the pitch. Everyone knows what to do, ”said the 29-year-old from Liverpool FC, who has scored the most goals within the national team with 25 goals. He scored twice in the 3-1 win against Turkey, which brought Switzerland to the round of 16. There was less of Shaqiri to be seen there, that should change against Spain.
Even more eyes on Lukaku and Schick
In the Friday hit Belgium against Italy (9 p.m.), even more eyes could be on star striker Romelu Lukaku. Because with the Belgians, Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard threaten two ailing offensive stars.
Austria’s round of 16 conquerors, Italy, want to expand their streak to 32 undefeated games in a row in a duel with the first in the FIFA rankings. Most recently, Sasa Kalajdzic scored a goal for the first time in 1,169 minutes, but Gianluigi Donnarumma has long since proven in the goal of the “Squadra Azzurra” that he is difficult to beat. Old defender Giorgio Chiellini is also there again.
What Lukaku is to Belgium, Patrik Schick is to the Czechs, who play against Denmark in Baku on Saturday (6 p.m.). No player who is still in the tournament has scored more hits than the Leverkusen attacker, namely four. Together with West Ham’s Tomas Soucek, Schick stands out from the Czech collective. Denmark could make it back to the semi-finals for the first time since 1992, when they had sensationally become European champions. After the shock to Christian Eriksen, the team itself has developed into great hope.
