BATTLE FOR FINAL SIXTEEN
LONDON -England delivered an efficient but hardly scintillating display to beat Czech Republic 1-0 with an early Raheem Sterling header on Tuesday to advance to Euro 2020’s last 16 as Group D winners, with the Czechs through as one of the best third-placed teams.
Sterling scored his and England’s second goal of the tournament in the 12th minute but the initial injection of pace, intensity and crowd-pleasing excitement brought by Jack Grealish and teenage man of the match Bukayo Saka gradually dissipated as the game petered out into an utterly forgettable second half.
Neither side will mind though as they now begin to plot their assaults on the knockout phase.
England return to Wembley on Tuesday to face the runners-up from Group E – likely to be France, Germany or Portugal - while the Czechs must wait to find out which group winner they play.
They were dislodged from second place by Croatia, who beat Scotland 3-1 and will play the Group E runners-up - Sweden, Slovakia, Spain or Poland – in Copenhagen on Monday.
On the positive side of England’s balance sheet is two wins and a draw, three clean sheets, a return to Wembley and a good number of players getting a taste of the action.
Conversely, they have scored only two goals - the lowest by any team ever to top a Euros group - were sluggish and overcautious for long periods of all three games and the midfield combination and approach seemingly remain anything but settled. They also face a potentially daunting last 16 game next.