England overcomes Germany to advance
After tight first half at Wembley, Sterling and Kane net late goals to propel host into Euro quarters
LONDON (Reuters) – England reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship with a 2-0 win over rival Germany after Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane scored second-half goals at Wembley on Tuesday night.
England took the lead in the 75th minute when Luke Shaw squared the ball from the left flank to find Sterling, who had started the move and finished it with a tap-in from the edge of the six-yard box as the home crowd erupted.
Kane scored the second in the 86th minute when substitute Jack Grealish crossed the ball and the England captain rushed in to beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and nod home.
Earlier, England ’keeper Jordan Pickford did well to keep out Timo Werner before tipping over a stinging volley from Kai Havertz.
At the other end, Mats Hummels denied Kane with a last-ditch clearance just before halftime.
England will play either Sweden or Ukraine, which met later on Tuesday in Glasgow in the final last-16 match.
Complacent France pays price for lacking team factor
Kylian Mbappe missing the decisive kick in the shootout as world champion France was eliminated from Euro 2020 by Switzerland on Monday encapsulated the biggest lesson of an extraordinary night – you cannot rely on individual brilliance alone.
Mbappe, of all the players, could be expected to score a penalty and it was not a poor kick, but nothing is guaranteed.
The magnificent save from Yann Sommer in the last-16 clash denied the striker and the shock on the French players’ faces showed they did not quite comprehend how they had managed to lose the game.
Ranked on talent, skill and individual quality, France should have been in a different class to Vladimir Petkovic’s hard-working Swiss side.
The 22-year-old Mbappe is the greatest young talent in the game, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante are two of the best central midfielders in the tournament and Karim Benzema, who scored twice, is one of the finest finishers around.
But it was only for 25 minutes of the 120 played that France looked like a world-beater and made the Swiss seem also-rans.
For the rest of the time, France played without real focus, without the kind of steel and determination that needs to be allied to flair and talent.
Trailing 1-0 at the break, after a disjointed and dispirited first-half display, France was staring at a 2-0 scoreline before goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saved Ricardo Rodriguez’s penalty.
That reprieve prompted a blistering response with Benzema scoring twice and then Pogba scoring a 75th-minute screamer to make it 3-1.
Game over, many of those watching would have felt, but from the way they played, the French too made the fatal mistake of under-estimating the Swiss.
“Nobody believed in us any more at that stage,” said goalkeeper Sommer.
“We felt they had become a bit complacent and maybe thought they had already won it. So we used that to our advantage.”
Indeed, the intensity and commitment that had powered France’s spell of flowing, positive, attacking soccer vanished as quickly as it had arrived and was replaced by a careless contentment that proved fatal.
The Swiss, sensed their opponents had switched off and seized the initiative, fighting back, with Haris Seferovic’s second and then a 90th minute equalizer from Mario Gavranovic.
France was unable to rediscover the verve that had given it the lead and, for all its qualities, the side lacked the discipline and cohesiveness that had been so central to its success at the World Cup in Russia three years ago.
“The best team deserves to go to the next round and tonight that is the Swiss,” said former France midfielder Patrick Vieira. “It was a poor French national team. There wasn’t any togetherness, there wasn’t any spirit. We didn’t play as a team so we didn’t deserve to go to the next round.”
Spain coach hails team spirit after ‘crazy’ 5-3 win over Croatia
Meanwhile, Spain coach Luis Enrique hailed his players’ character as the threetime European champion recovered from a nightmare start then let slip a two-goal lead before finally beating Croatia 5-3 in extra time to reach the quarterfinals.
“It was a very intense game today that really had everything. Everyone saw our true team spirit today,” Luis Enrique told a news conference.
“When the word ego disappears and the word team appears, of course it’s fantastic to be part of a group like that.”
Spain had taken a 3-1 lead after an incredible error from ’keeper Unai Simon saw it fall behind.
“They didn’t really create any chance, yet we conceded a goal. So when that happened, it felt very unfair and of course it can lead to a bit of shock for a few minutes,” Luis Enrique said.
Croatia staged an astonishing comeback with goals in the 85th minute and in added time, but Spain went on to score two goals in extra time.
“I am pleased we got a second chance. That doesn’t usually happen,” the coach added. “It went crazy really after the 80th minute, when we could have scored a fourth goal and put it to bed. Those final 10 minutes are something we have to learn from.
“We don’t have that much international experience within the squad, and perhaps those kinds of mistakes are inevitable.”
Luis Enrique was moved by the fans’ appreciation of the pulsating game in Copenhagen.
“What really struck me was the final five minutes of extra time, when the fans stood up and applauded and paid tribute to the great effort and commitment of all of the players who had competed,” he said.
“That was a lovely gesture from the fans, it was about recognizing the spectacle that both teams put on today. The headline tonight is: enjoy football.”