Words by Alysia Georgiades
Image courtesy of Pixabay
If you watched Ukraine beat Sweden on Tuesday night after Artem Dovbyk scored in the final minute of added time in extra time, then you know that England’s quarter final against the team would be no walk-over.
Except that is exactly how England made it look.
They dominated with a cool confidence that refused Ukraine to play with the determination and energy they had in their last 16 match.
It started with another goal from captain Kane just three and half minutes into the match, built up by seven of his teammates including Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho, with a beautiful pass from Sterling that earned him an assist.
The England fans who were allowed into the Stadio Olimpico in Rome erupted at this early sign of success, but knew not to take it for granted. Just five years ago England were 1-0 up against Iceland in the European Championships, and we all know how that ended.
But this is a different team, with a different manager, and England were only just getting started.
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Maguire made it 2-0 in the 46th minute with a header assisted by a Shaw free-kick that earned him his first goal of Euro 2020.
Four minutes later it was Kane’s turn again after Sterling cooly made a back-heel to Luke Shaw who crossed the ball to Kane and headed it down through Heorhiy Bushchan’s legs and into the back of the net.
Kane almost made it a hat-trick with a strike from outside the penalty box, but Bushchan’s fingertips flicked the ball away as he leaped to guard the goal. Three did become four though after Jordan Henderson came on for Declan Rice early in the second half and scored from a Mason Mount Corner, marking his first goal for England after 62 caps.
The roar in his celebration summed up the feelings of the entire nation. 4-0 England. A score never to be seen in a knockout stage of a tournament by the Three Lions, except when they won 4-2 against Germany in - you guessed it - 1966.
Five clean sheets in the tournament and now seven in a row means England have gone 662 minutes without conceding a goal, a statistic that proves Southgate has achieved the balance of defence and attack while the players communicate on the pitch and work to stop their opponents taking many chances.
“Yes, today we lost,” Ukraine captain Andriy Yarmolenko said after the match. “But we should look at who we have lost to. In my opinion, we have lost to one of the best teams in the world.”
Three consecutive semi-finals in three tournaments, seven clean sheets, and a slick performance against Ukraine. If this was any other team anyone would assume the title was a given. Southgate even made tactical substitutes to rest key players and allow the likes of Jude Bellingham and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to experience an international quarter-final. A dream situation for any manager when you still have Foden and Grealish on the bench.
Former England player, Rio Ferdinand, said it himself after the match. “The scary thing for other teams is that they will be watching this performance and see there is more in the tank. It is like they are purring and waiting to put their foot to the floor.”
Going into the semi-final England will once again be favourites against Denmark, especially with all remaining matches being played at Wembley. But it will be no easy feat - the tournament a mix of highs and lows for Denmark after Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest in their first match, before finishing second in their group and knocking out Wales and the Czech Republic to reach the final four.
But the England squad is focused on the task at hand, taking one game at a time in the hope of finding themselves at Wembley once again next Sunday.
“The job is not done yet, there’s a lot more football to play,” Kane told BBC Sport in a post-match interview, while Henderson added they can’t “dwell too long” on their victory as they now prepare for Denmark.
“I’m just ready for the next game,” Kane admitted. “And [I’ll] try and lead this team to the European final.”
This is a reinvented England. An England that wants to place themselves as champions and are more than capable of doing so.