Euro 2020: Day 19
After a build up that seemed to last a lifetime, England finally met Germany in front of an increased capacity of around 40,000 in the first game of the day on Tuesday. After his impressive showing last time out, Saka kept his place in the starting XI for England with Walker switching into the centre as part of a back three, while Chelsea forward Timo Werner started for Germany, with club colleague Havertz one of the two in support. The visitors started on the front foot, England having to be defensively solid in the opening exchanges, the German’s winning several quick corners in the early exchanges. They were then handed a dangerous free kick on the edge of the area, Declan Rice at fault, picking up a yellow card for his troubles, the effort thankfully blocked by offender Rice before being cleared.
England, looking nervous in the opening 15 minutes, then began to find their rhythm, Sterling forcing the first save from Neuer with his effort after cutting inside, before his hands were then stung again with a header from Maguire, which in truth was straight at him. Ginter then followed Rice into the book after a foul on Luke Shaw, as England began to pose more of a threat down the channels, Maguire going close again from a header.
Germany then had a fantastic chance to take the lead after Timo Werner was found with a through ball just after the half hour mark, but Everton keeper Jordan Pickford did brilliantly to block the resulting shot with his legs as England held firm. Kane then won a direct free kick at the other end, Trippier looking to tee him up with a quick pass but Hummels alert to the danger to clear, before then clearing the resulting corner too. Kalvin Phillips then followed his England midfield colleague Rice into the referee’s book, the 3rd booking of the first half after a foul on Toni Kroos.
The ball then fell to Kane in stoppage time, but as he looked to control in the area Hummels was again showing all his nous and experience to take the ball away from the Spurs striker, who should perhaps have been looking to shout first time after the ball had been presented to him so kindly inside the box. The second half began the same as the first, Germany beginning the more comfortable of the two sides and Pickford once again having to be at his best to tip over an effort from Kai Havertz, who tried his luck with a half volley from the edge of the area that was superbly saved.
England were once again starting to look flustered, Pickford getting up to punch clear from the head of Gosens, Germany looking the far more likely to score. Sterling then lost possession leading to a quick counter from Germany, his club colleague John Stones rescuing him with a great block on Werner, the corner eventually being dealt with by Kane. Saka was then caught by Ginter and needed some treatment, albeit unintentional, the German defender sportingly putting the ball out to allow treatment, as England really struggled to gain any real possession and momentum of the ball, although thankfully they also seemed to slow down the threat of the away side.
Both sides made their first change heading into the final 20 minutes, Germany first of all sending on Gnabry for Werner, while England sent on Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish in the place of Saka. Minutes later Gosens became the fourth man booked, making it all square on the booking count as well as the scoreline, with a late lunge on Kieran Trippier, a needless tackle given the area the ball was in.
Trippier needed treatment minutes later, but appeared OK to continue, before the crowd were then sent into ecstasy as England took the lead. Raheem Sterling picked up the ball 30 yards out, running at the defence before using his colleagues, first Kane then Grealish, ending with Shaw delivering an absolute perfect cross back into the path of the England forward who made no mistake from close range to claim his 3rd goal of the tournament and give England a great chance of pushing on, Sterling remaining the only scorer this tournament for his country.
Germany were then gifted a chance to hit back just minutes later, Harry Maguire giving away a needless free kick and picking up a card when Shaw, so superb in his delivery minutes earlier, looked to have the danger covered before his Manchester United colleague produced the foul with the pull back. Raheem then nearly turned from hero to villain after a misplaced pass allowed a quick counter from Germany, but the gods were smiling as Muller dragged his shot wide of the post with only Pickford left to beat, a massive massive let off for England.
England had chance to celebrate further when they made it 2-0, Harry Kane finally getting off the mark this tournament with a stooping header after a classic counter. Shaw was again heavily involved, winning the ball before finding Grealish on the left hand side. The lively sub produced a perfect cross into the path of Kane, unmarked in the middle and diving low to head beyond Neuer, the relief clear for everyone to see in the celebrations, both for the two goal advantage and Kane finally getting his goal.
England then sent on Jordan Henderson for the booked Rice as they looked to close out the game, while Sane and Can came on for the visitors, hoping for a comeback akin to what we had witnessed yesterday. Musiala, the one who got away from England, was then sent on in an attempt to silence his former team-mates, having played with several of the England squad in the under-21 setup before switching back to the country of his birth, but it proved to be too little too late as England held on to a memorable victory.
Across the border in Scotland, Hampden Park once again played host as the final game in the last 16 saw Sweden face Ukraine for the right to face England in the quarter finals. Sweden came into the game as favourites, although Ukraine once again named a front pair of Yarmolenko and Yaremchuk, who had both had good tournaments so far. Sweden began the brighter, but the first real chance fell to Yaremchuk, who was given the chance to shoot and did so, forcing a smart save down low by former Everton loanee Robin Olsen.
Kulusevski, so effective in the last game, then tormented again, finding Forsberg, who couldn’t keep his header down, before Alexander Isak then cut inside on his right but failed to trouble the keeper, curling his shot just wide. Ukraine then drew first blood, Manchester City full back Oleksandr Zinchenko grabbing the opening goal with a fantastic half volley that left Olsen with no chance despite getting a hand to it, Yarmolenko picking him out superbly with a pass using the outside of the boot to create the chance, the goal coming perhaps slightly against the run of play, but a wonderful goal all the same.
Sweden pulled level just before the break, the move coming from a throw in before Isak played a one-two with Kulusevski before teeing up one for Emil Forsberg to hit, and the midfielder didn’t disappoint getting all his body behind his left footed effort from range, which clipped the defender on the way through before beating Bushchan, the Leipzig midfielder claiming his 4th goal of the tournament and 5th in 5 games.
10 minutes into the second half, Ukraine almost regained their lead, Sydorchuk striking the woodwork with a curled effort from just inside the area after Yarmolenko caught the Swedish defence napping. Sweden hit back immediately, striking the foot of the post themselves, Isak showing fantastic composure and pace once again this tournament to run at the Ukraine defence before picking out the right option, finding Forsberg in space, the goalscorer bending it beyond the keeper but off the foot of the post and wide for a goal kick.
Bushchan then produced a good save as Ukraine failed to clear a corner, Lindelof causing problems in the area before the ball broke for Kulusevski, who shifted onto his left foot and looked to curl one, the keeper reacting well to force the effort over the bar. At the other end, Yarmolenko then fired straight at Olsen when the ball broke to him on the right, failing to trouble the keeper.
The game opening up, the woodwork was struck once more after 68 minutes, Forsberg again showing an absolutely brilliant bit of individual skill inside the area by cutting inside two players before another curled effort struck the crossbar and was cleared, Kulusevski fouling Zinchenko and picking up a booking as Ukraine eventually cleared their lines, unable to cope with the Leipzig midfielder.
With both sides clearly tiring, chances were at a premium in the closing stages of normal time, Kulusevski showing his tiredness when he should have done better after a pass found its way through to him thanks to some tired defending. The last chance of the game also fell to the Juventus wide man, as he again sprung the defence, this time latching to a ball over the top, but young defender Karavaev recovering superbly to get the block in, sending the game into another 30 minutes of play and the players having to dig even deeper.
Ukraine were given a massive boost when Marcus Danielson received a straight red in the first half of extra time for an poor challenge on Besedin, who had to be replaced as a result but fortunately didn’t appear too badly injured with a follow through that could have had far more serious consequences, catching him flush on the knee, the red card wholly deserved in my opinion. Besedin, who had come on as a substitute himself, hobbled wearily around the edge of the pitch after being replaced, knee heavily strapped up, as Ukraine looked to make their numerical advantage count on the pitch in the time remaining to avoid a shoot out.
Marcus Berg, one of the six substitutions made by Sweden, produced a block to deny Karavaev in the box as Ukraine dominated the play in extra time but Sweden showed great resolve and structure to try and halt the tide of chances, desperate to hang on for penalties against the 11 men. Malinovskyi then volleyed just wide of the goal as Ukraine threw everything at the Swedish defence,
With 3 minutes added at the end of extra time, you felt there was still time for one more real chance, and so it proved as substitute striker Artem Dovbyk scored a dramatic winner to earn Ukraine a clash with England in the quarter finals, a great cross glanced home superbly by the Dnipro forward, one of the freshest men left out on the pitch. A trip to Rome now awaits Andriy Shevchenko and his men on Saturday evening, the last quarter final tie at least giving them a little bit more recovery time after their mammoth effort in Glasgow.
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