Sports News of Wednesday, 23 June 2021
Source: Betway Ghana
2021-06-23
Raheem Sterling was England’s Wembley match-winner once again
Raheem Sterling was England’s Wembley match-winner once again as his early header earned a 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic, sealing top spot in Group D and setting up a last-16 tie next Tuesday with the runners-up of the pool containing France, Germany, Portugal and Hungary.
Local lad Sterling (12) made the difference against Croatia in England’s opening match of Euro 2020 and he doubled his tally for the tournament with a close-range header from Jack Grealish’s excellent cross after earlier hitting the post inside two minutes.
England were without Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell, who had been forced to isolate after Scotland’s Billy Gilmour tested positive for coronavirus, but played with attacking freedom in the first half which had been missing from their first two group games, with 19-year-old Bukayo Saka a standout performer on his first start of the competition, and Harry Kane denied by a good save.
The Czech Republic gave as good as they got, with Tomas Holes forcing Jordan Pickford into a good stop and Tomas Soucek shooting wastefully wide, and the visitors controlled possession for long periods in the second half, with sub Tomas Pekhart dragging a shot just wide late on.
England had a Jordan Henderson goal ruled out for offside in the closing moments but at the other end they held firm, recording three clean sheets in a major tournament group stage for the first time since the 1966 World Cup.
As for the Czech Republic, they ultimately go through in third, with Croatia grabbing the second spot with a 3-1 win over Scotland at Hampden Park.
Euro 2020 update is by courtesy of BetWay.