ENGLAND put the nation in dreamland with a stunning 2-0 Euro 2020 triumph against old rivals Germany.
Goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane saw the Three Lions progress into the quarter-finals, with the Germans sent home.
It was the first time since the triumphant 1966 World Cup final that England had beaten Germany in the knock-out stages of a major tournament.
And while Gareth Southgate’s side fully deserved their victory, there were some hairy moments in the Wembley clash.
Here, SunSport runs through seven crucial moments that saw England progress through to face Ukraine in the last eight.
TEAM SELECTION
Southgate changed things up for this game, going with a 3-5-2 with wing-backs to counter Germany’s marauding flankers.
Kyle Walker was played as one of three alongside Harry Maguire and John Stones, with Luke Shaw and Kieran Trippier on the sides.
And it worked a treat.
Germany dominated the early stages, but as the game went on you could sense they were frustrated by England… frustrating.
Shaw and Tripper worked their socks off, and provided key passes onto Sterling and Bukayo Saka ahead of them.
Arsenal wonderkid Saka did have a quiet game, but that was overshadowed by a pitch-perfect team strategy.
Despite many calling for Jack Grealish, Phil Foden or Jadon Sancho to start – Southgate got it just right with his picks.
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PICKFORD SAVE VS WERNER
England finally look like they have that world class keeper between the sticks.
Jordan Pickford is yet to concede a goal at Euro 2020 – the only keeper in the tournament that can make that claim – and made several crucial saves against Germany.
But the one that really counted most was when the teams were tied at 0-0 in the first half.
Kai Havertz played a delicious through-ball to his Chelsea team-mate Timo Werner, but his smashed effort on goal was brilliantly deflected away by Pickford.
The Everton stopper went on to brilliantly deny Havertz with a fine tip over the bar too.
RICE ESCAPING RED
Germany were begging referee Danny Makkelie to show Declan Rice a red card for a cynical-looking foul just eight minutes in.
Makkelie actually had the red in his hands – but he was just shuffling the pack to find the yellow.
Leon Goretzka was the man hauled down, but thankfully the referee adjudged Walker to be the covering defender and so not denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Rice’s central midfield partner Kalvin Phillips was also booked in the game in that first half – but both young players showed terrific nous to see out the game.
GREALISH COMING ON
Just when it seemed England were settling for dreaded penalties, Grealish decided to sort that out.
The fans were baying to see the Aston Villa man get on the pitch – and when Southgate finally relented on the 69th minute, the game was changed.
Grealish was involved in Sterling’s opener, and then assisted captain Kane to finally get off the mark.
The question now is whether Grealish is the impact player England have yearned for, or a certain starter.
Over to you, Gareth – we trust you’ll get it right.
STERLING GOAL
England’s player of the tournament scored his third goal in four games to send Wembley into ecstasy.
The Manchester City man timed his run to perfection to slot home Shaw’s beautiful assist.
Suddenly fans watching inside Wembley and on TV screens around the country realised Southgate and co were NOT settling for penalties.
Manchester City have recently been rumoured to be prepared to offer Sterling as a makeweight in a deal to sign Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
This tournament has shown that would be a silly move.
MULLER MISS
One of Germany’s leaders and a constant thorn in England’s side Thomas Muller fluffed a glorious chance to level the game.
Sterling had fired England ahead on 75 minutes but Muller had an instant chance to level things up.
It was England’s goalscorer who gave away possession that saw the ball played through to the 31-year-old Bayern Munich star.
But one-on-one with Pickford, he flashed an effort the wrong side of the post and Wembley breathed a huge sigh of relief.
KANE GOAL
The Tottenham man had been having a torrid tournament, and didn’t start the Germany game too well either.
But like the rest of the team, he was instantly buoyed by Sterling poking England noses ahead.
Suddenly his runs were cleverer, and Germany’s centre-halves were losing him.
There was no finer sight that seeing the England captain stooping to head Grealish’s inch-perfect cross past Manuel Neuer into the goal for that crucial second.
FANS BACK IN WEMBLEY
What a treat to have fans back inside the national stadium.
England had that advantage before a ball had even being kicked – but you’d have been forgiven for forgetting that Wembley was only half-full.
The fans inside made the most of it – constantly urging the team forward but also accepting when the lads were out of possession.
England legend Alan Shearer told the BBC: “It felt like there were 140,000 fans inside Wembley on Tuesday, let alone 40,000, and the team responded to them – especially in the second half.”
It just felt different. Let’s hope England are back at the famous old stadium come July 11.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
