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England 2 Germany 0
History hung throughout the match, however, with England players denying it in advance. England won 2-0 the ghosts of all these failures of the past Germany – everyone felt at 1970, 1990, 1996 and 2010 at Wembley, presumably including England director Gareth Southgate.
In the final minutes of Tuesday, with England scoring two goals, they became the 40,000 “Three Lions” allowed to join Wembley, England’s “30-year pain” anthem – most of which was caused by Germany.
It was England’s first knockout round of the European Championship without a penalty kick since 1968. But they are a new kind of England team, reaching the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, more professional, more organized and nervous than their predecessors.
Football is a game of mistakes and this evening the team that does as little as England will win.
The pass was barely put in place, there was almost no crushed shelf, and the positioning was expert, with England’s wide players cutting the supply lines on Germany’s terrifying wings. Jordan Pickford had a flawless goal. It is topical after the big games in England that they fought “like lions” but on Tuesday they functioned like they were computer controlled. After four games, they have yet to score a goal.
It wasn’t entertaining. The discreet Southgate featured three central defenders, although Germany played in most matches with only one forward striker Timo Werner. This left England crowded in the back and underestimated in the middle of the pitch. As there were not many passers-by in the group, the progress was arduous and seldom surprised the Germans.
This certainly helps explain why England captain Harry Kane – in a deadly season for Tottenham Hotspur – spent most of the match stretching his serious Euro 2020. In a playoff against Germany.
Leaving aside his creative players in the old tradition of England, some of them started on the bench, but as he was creating so little, he was sent to Jack Grealish Sakanara in the 68th minute. Kane was allowed to leave, apparently respecting his seniority. Seven minutes later, the switch paid off. Sterling started a play by Kane and Grealish against Luke Shaw and this put Sterling’s home shot from six yards out, scoring his and England’s third goal of the tournament.
Until that moment Kane was so poor that it seemed like a case of identity theft. Perhaps Germany was aroused by the stress of having England’s biggest name in tackling the elimination of the rite, as it took on life after its first goal, moving much further and having a better time. Four minutes later he got his rescue: Shaw caught it in the middle of the field and fed Grealish, Kane hit a cross at an awkward height that bent him to head home.
This aging German team – with coach Joachim Löw, bowed out after 15 years and became four world champions in 2014 – has come to an end. Then the England players stayed on the field, as the fans created the liveliest atmosphere most people have had since the pandemic began. “I thought it was a great evening,” Southgate told the BBC.
Central defender Harry Maguire, who has been named the official “star of the match”, said: “It’s been a tough couple of years for everyone in this country, so putting a smile on their face again is a great time.”
England find it easier to get in the middle of the draw, going to the quarter-finals in Rome on Saturday, with Kane probably freed from his demons and with the finals and semi-finals at home at Wembley. Anyone unfamiliar with these “30-year pains” (those who have gone from 55 to 55) may be tempted to ask: what could be wrong?
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