England top the group by turning jeers to cheers with win over Czech Republic
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England turned the jeers to cheers and suddenly it looked like football really is coming home again.
Booed off after a dismal draw with Scotland, the Three Lions roared into life to top Group D and guarantee a return to Wembley in the last 16.
Raheem Sterling broke the deadlock with his 14th goal in 19 games for England, and both Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka brought energy, flair and invention.
Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson both got run-outs too as Gareth Southgate’s side shrugged off the loss of Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell to Covid protocols.
And it even got the Royal seal of approval from FA president Prince William, who was one of 22,500 spectators in the crowd.
After a storm of criticism, England fans are now back on side, with the Skinner and Baddiel anthem ringing out around Wembley.
And Southgate can put his feet up today and wait to see if it’s Portugal, France, Germany or Hungary up next.
With the Mount and Chilwell mess rumbling on, Southgate delayed his team selection until the last minute.
And with both finally deemed unavailable, in came fan favourite Grealish, Maguire to prove his fitness, and a left-field choice in Saka.
The Arsenal youngster would almost certainly not have made the squad at all if Southgate had been limited to 23.
But Saka tormented Czech full back Jan Boril when the Gunners beat Slavia Prague in the Europa League this season – and did so again last night.
It was Sterling who almost opened the scores though. Fresh from his first ever tournament goal against Croatia, he hit the woodwork early on.
Luke Shaw released him one on one with the keeper but Sterling’s lob came back off the far post.
The Manchester City man soon made up for it. And who else but Grealish would loft the ball in for Sterling to head home at the far post?
It was a nightmare start for the Czechs, who were unchanged from the side which drew with Croatia and only needed a point to finish top.
But a dream one for England, who almost scored again when Harry Kane cut inside only to be thwarted by a one-handed save from Tomas Vaclik.
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Jordan Pickford stopped a shot from Tomas Holes at the other end but Southgate’s side looked a team transformed.
The England boss even felt confident enough to stick Henderson on for the second half for his first appearance the finals.
And the Liverpool skipper was quickly spraying passes around and ordering people about as the home side went looking for more goals.
The longer it went on, the more you could sense everyone willing Kane to get on the scoresheet, but it just wasn’t to be.
And there were a few boos with just over 20 minutes left when Southgate dragged off a disappointed Grealish, who in truth had faded after an electric first half.
Henderson thought he’d bagged a second only for the linesman to rule it out for offside.
But by then the Czechs had taken off tournament joint top scorer Patrik Schick and didn’t look too interested in a comeback.
And with Jadon Sancho also finally getting on for his first appearances at the Euros, this win ticked a lot of boxes for England, who remain unbeaten.
- England Football Team
- Euro 2020
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