Johannesburg – The Three Lions just keep getting better.
Raheem Sterling broke open Ukraine’s defence with a fourth-minute through ball to Harry Kane, who finished his chance, and the rest was relatively easy for Gareth Southgate’s team in a 4-0 win.
Kane went on to score a second, while Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson also found the net.
England have now scored eight goals and conceded none in five matches.
Clean sheet record
England remain the only side at Euro 2020 yet to concede a goal, having kept clean sheets in all of their Group D games with Croatia, Scotland and Czech Republic, plus their two knockout triumphs.
Sancho for Saka, no Grealish
Bukayo Saka was left out due to a knock he sustained in training, and surprisingly, Southgate opted to start Jadon Sancho on the right side of the attack rather than Jack Grealish.
Grealish had looked phenomenal as a substitute against Germany, but he didn’t get on the pitch at all yesterday.
Left for dead
The left side of England’s attack has been impressive all tournament, but the play of Raheem Sterling (who we’ve praised ad nauseam in this newsletter) and overlapping full-back Luke Shaw reached a new level of superiority against Ukraine.
Four of the Three Lions’ five key passes from open play came from the left, including assists from Sterling and Shaw.
That comes after Shaw and Grealish had assisted with crosses from the left side of the penalty area in their last-16 win over Germany.
Denmark will try to mitigate for the semi-final, but they are going to be hard-pressed to find solutions for Sterling, Shaw or anyone else venturing down that wing.
That persistent England worry
Because the Three Lions still haven’t won a major trophy since 1966, they remain on edge entering the semi-finals despite being the favourites at Wembley.
Many members of the group were part of the semi-final run in the 2018 World Cup that ended with an extra-time loss to Croatia.
“We know how much it hurts to not go to the final,” Kane said. “We have a vision of where we want to be and this is winning a tournament. We want to do the fans, our friends and family proud.”
Denmark’s fairytale gets new chapter
Not long ago, Denmark were entering their final group stage match considered a coin flip at best to advance to the knockout rounds. Few were betting on them given the emotional devastation caused by Christian Eriksen’s on-field cardiac arrest.
They’ve since beaten Russia, Wales and the Czech Republic by a combined score of 10-2 and are bound for a semi-final match against England. Eriksen, meanwhile, is well enough to have been discharged from the hospital.
In defeating the Czechs 2-1 in their latest victory, Denmark have become the final true underdog story remaining in the competition. The other three nations left, of course, are Spain, Italy and England.
Eriksen emergency has kept Danes together
Captain Simon Kjaer has said that Eriksen’s collapse in their opening Euro 2020 match pulled the squad together and helped to inspire them to the semi-finals.
Speaking after the 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in Baku, Kjaer explained that the Danes are not content, however, with simply reaching the final four.
“It did something to the group,” Kjaer said. “We thrive and we’re safe together.
“We know we can trust the people around us. We know that if one of us is in trouble, then someone else is there for you.
“We aimed to go to Wembley and now we will. But I would be lying if I said we’re okay with [just appearing in the semi-final].”
In other (non-Euros) news…
Lionel Messi scored a free-kick to cap a 3-0 victory over Ecuador on Saturday in the Copa America quarter-finals, with his performance drawing effusive praise from his Argentina team-mates.
The forward also assisted twice – once without looking at his target as he made the pass – in a man-of-the-match effort that prompted Nico Gonzalez to say the entire squad draws “confidence and joy” from his play.
Argentina will face Colombia in the final four on Tuesday, and Messi will try to build on his output of four goals and four assists so far in the tournament.
“We all follow Messi’s leadership,” said forward Lautaro Martinez. “Today we saw again how he makes a difference and we are all accompanying him.”
Meanwhile, Brazil will meet Peru in the semi-final on the other side of the bracket.
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