Simon Peach, PA Chief Football Writer
England are celebrating their European Championship victory against Germany after Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane fired Gareth Southgate’s men into the quarter-finals, ending 2-0 in Wembley.
The din inside the stadium belied the 40,000-or-so in attendance and the reward for just their second ever Euros knockout win is a quarter-final clash against Sweden or Ukraine in Rome this Saturday.
DO. NOT. DOUBT. THIS. MAN! ? pic.twitter.com/Pe0eo1Spul
— England (@England) June 29, 2021
England will head to Italy on the crest of a wave after digging deep on a nervy evening in front of a partisan home crowd, with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford producing some important saves before Sterling broke the deadlock in the second half.
The 26-year-old turned in Luke Shaw’s driven cross home to send supporters wild, but he was soon panicking after his loose ball led Thomas Muller to race through.
??????? England = quarter-finalists! ?#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/vgBFvV4Vc8
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 29, 2021
But the Germany veteran – who scored twice against England in their 2010 World Cup exit – inexplicably dragged wide and Kane opened his account for the tournament by directing home fan favourite Jack Grealish’s cross.