A Sterling strike gives England perfect start
Raheem Sterling grew up in the shadow of Wembley Stadium as it was being rebuilt, even getting a tattoo of its famous arch on his left forearm.
Now playing for his country at the iconic venue, he used his right foot to give England the start they had been longing for at the European Championship.
The winger’s goal – his first in a tournament in his 13th match through four competitions – gave England a 1-0 win over Croatia yesterday in their opening Euro 2020 game.
‘‘I always said to myself ... growing up two minutes down the road, I’ve got to score,’’ Sterling said.
‘‘It’s a great feeling doing it.’’ It ensured England overcame their opening-game stumbling block, finally making a winning start to the continental tournament in their 10th appearance.
Far more comfortable than in the loss to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semifinals, this was an England side packed with youthful debutants and with Sterling, still only 26, the team’s most experienced tournament player.
Seventeen-year-old midfielder Jude Bellingham, who plays in Germany with Borussia Dortmund, became the youngest player to appear at a European Championship when he came on in the 82nd minute to replace captain Harry Kane.
The previous record had been held by Jetro Willems, who was 18 when he played for the Netherlands at Euro 2012.
Sterling is now England’s most experienced tournament player and entrusted by coach Gareth Southgate despite struggling for game time at Manchester City in recent months.
‘‘He’s been a reliable performer for us,’’ Southgate said. ‘‘I know people are saying he hasn’t hit the heights but we can’t have all the burden of scoring on Harry’s shoulder. We need the players in the wide areas. He looked a threat the whole day.’’
After only scoring once in his previous 13 appearances for City and England, he found the breakthrough against Croatia in the 57th minute. It was the vision of Kalvin Phillips, one of five England starters making their tournament debut, that created the opening.
‘‘He brings a lot of energy to the team,’’ Sterling said. ‘‘He’s always in the faces of the opposition and uses the ball well.’’
The Leeds midfielder shook of challenges before releasing Sterling, who slipped a shot into the net via a touch off Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
The sparkling moment for Sterling came two days after he was named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his campaigning against racial injustice.
But at the first England game at Wembley with fans since 2019, there was a sour start when players taking a knee were jeered by their own fans. That was despite pleas from the England team to respect the anti-racism gesture.
In other matches yesterday, the Netherlands beat Ukraine 3-2 in a five-goal thriller, and Austria outclassed North Macedonia 3-1.
Denzel Dumfries made up for an earlier mistake by heading in an 85thminute winning goal, giving the Netherlands a 3-2 victory over Ukraine.
Dumfries missed an open header in the first half, but he converted when the team needed it most, heading in a cross from Nathan Ake only minutes after his team had squandered a two-goal lead.
The Dutch were playing in their first major tournament in seven years. The last time was at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when they reached the semifinals.
Austria finally earned a victory at the European Championships, and they got the goals they needed from the bench.
Michael Gregoritsch and Marko Arnautovic both came on as substitutes and scored late to help Austria win.
It was Austria’s first win at a major tournament in 31 years and their first at the European Championships.
Austria will next play the Netherlands on Friday, while Ukraine face North Macedonia in Bucharest.