England’s Stars Give the Home Fans Something to Cheer About
England beat Germany in a competitive match for the first time since the 2001 World Cup Qualifiers and they got to do it in front of their home fans at Wembley Field. England’s defense looked for stout, as they have all tournament, and have still not allowing a goal in the tournament so far. As for their offense, what looked average at best for the first 74 minutes of the game finally broke loose in the 75th, when Raheem Sterling scored his 3rd goal of the tournament off of a wonderful cross by Luke Shaw, as he redirected the ball into the lower right corner, as legendary German goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, had no chance. England’s other star, Harry Kane netted his first goal of the tournament in the 86th minute on a waist-level diving header to put England up 2-0 and solidified the eventual win.
Is This the Lowest Point in German Soccer History?
What was once viewed as the most elite international soccer team in the entire world, Germany has now had back to back disappointing major tournaments, getting knocked out in the group stages at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and losing in the round of 16 at EURO 2020. The previous 6 major tournaments Germany played in, they were never knocked out before the semi-finals of the tournament, dating back to 2006.
Germany had a few chances to both take the lead and tie England before Harry Kane’s goal, but Timo Werner and Thomas Müller were both unable to capitalize on dangerous goal scoring opportunities. Serge Gnabry, who came off the bench in this match, was also highly ineffective, committing numerous turnovers and generated minimal offense and no spark when he was subbed in half way through the 2nd half. Germany’s strikers combined for zero goals across four games in this tournament.
At the beginning of the tournament, Germany, France, Portugal, and Hungary made up Group F at EURO 2020 and many soccer fans considered this the “Group of Death”. With Germany’s loss to England, every team from Group F has now been eliminated, with none reaching the quarterfinals. In what was yet another disappointing tournament, after 15 years, Joachim Löw’s era as Germany’s head coach has also come to an end.
What’s Next for England?
England will face the winner of Sweden vs Ukraine on July 3rd in Rome. Unfortunately England will not have the same home field advantage that was present against Germany, as England fans will not be allowed to travel to Italy due to a mandatory five-day quarantine that Italy has imposed.