Peaking at the right time in Euro 2020, England beat Ukraine 4-0 at the Stadio Olimpico to romp into the semi-finals as Harry Kane scored twice, with Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire adding to the goal rush. This is the third time the Three Lions have scored four goals at a Euro finals game, the previous occasions being Euro '96 against the Netherlands (4-1) and Euro 2004 versus Croatia (4-2). The Three Lions have booked a Euro semi-final berth for the first time in 25 years.
Kane, who was adjudged Star of the Match, is over the moon with another clean sheet for his side. “It's about peaking at the right time. A fantastic night; we keep going game after game. We were favourites to win this game – a lot of pressure and expectation and to perform as we did was top-drawer. Another clean sheet and four goals: it was a perfect night for us," he said after the game. Kane became the first player to score twice for England in a Euro knockout match, and all his last 24 international goals have come in competitive matches.
“We didn’t want to take a backward step. We wanted to really grasp the opportunity rather than hope we might win or let fate have a chance to play its part. I thought the players were decisive and ruthless all night,” coach Gareth Southgate said after the match.
Ukraine manager Andriy Shevchenko, who had promised "fearless football" before the quarter-final fixture, said, “We've had a great tournament. The team had their own style; they refused to abandon their way of playing, irrespective of the results and opposition. From that point of view, the team have played good football. The guys did everything they could, and I want to thank them for that today.”
England next face Denmark in the semi-finals on July 8.
Denmark continue to soar
Denmark’s rousing Euro 2020 campaign continued as they beat the Czech Republic 2-1 on Saturday to reach the semi-finals thanks to first-half strikes from Thomas Delaney and Kasper Dolberg. Patrik Schick responded for the Czechs early in the second half to score his fifth goal of the tournament and become the joint-top scorer with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Denmark stood firm to book their place in Wednesday’s semi-final.
The result avenged Denmark’s 3-0 defeat by the Czechs in the last eight of Euro 2004 and meant they reached the semi-finals for the third time, taking them closer yet to adding to their unlikely triumph at Euro ’92. Denmark got off to a flying start when Delaney took advantage of slack marking from a corner to head home in the fifth minute, although replays showed the corner should never have been given as the ball had come off a Danish player when it went out.
The Czechs struggled to respond and Denmark missed several chances to double their lead, with Mikkel Damsgaard, Delaney and Martin Braithwaite all spurning decent opportunities. They eventually scored again at the end of the first half when left back Joakim Maehle delivered an inviting cross with the outside of his right foot which Dolberg side-footed in on the volley, adding to his double in the 4-0 win over Wales.
Denmark had ridden the wave of a raucous home crowd in their three group games in Copenhagen and also enjoyed strong support against Wales in the last 16 in Amsterdam, capturing the hearts of many neutrals after Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in their opening game with Finland. Even though there was a sizeable and noisy Danish contingent in Baku there was less of a festive mood than in previous games as the players were separated by an atmosphere-sapping running track and sparse crowd in Azerbaijan, where locals have been largely less than enthusiastic about the tournament.
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand has his eyes set on Wembley Stadium, where the final will be played on July 12. “It's magical. The first thing I showed the boys when we met was a picture of Wembley, when we were there in the autumn. I said that we were going to come back. It was like we were playing in a Danish stadium because our dedicated fans came to support us in Baku. We're deeply thankful.”
