☝ You might as well enjoy some background music whilst you read this. (I've still got the original CD from when it was released back in 1996)
This is the 1st time I've felt this since Gareth Southgate took over and tonight, I saw the best England performance that I can remember since he became England manager in 2016. I know, I know, it's easy to praise after a 4-0 win (and our biggest win in the history of the Euros) but tonight was more than just the win. There was a confidence, determination and energy that blended into a near-perfect England performance.
Harry Kane - a player who's confidence and performances were under scrutiny after 3 anonymous performances in the Group stage - The goal against Germany has clearly reignited his confidence with 2 well taken goals and the highlight for me - a left footed volley, taken 1st time from the edge of the area being denied his hat-trick by Ukranian goalkeeper Heorhiy Bushchan. He looked the player that we see every week in the Premier League (when he's not injured) and it's a great time to see him playing like this again.
The moment of the match for me though wasn't a goal. It wasn't a shot or a save but something far more mundane. Much harder to notice and appreciate. It was when we were 1-0 up. We started sitting deeper and Ukraine were enjoying plenty of possession. Having seen us sit back and defend at 1-0 too many times before and seen us go on to lose, I was getting nervy. And then all of a sudden, Jadon Sancho pressed the Ukraine left back. It was a burst of pace, some energy. He didn't make a tackle but it was a signal to the rest of the England team. At that moment, you watched every England player chase down their man. Press high up the pitch and give the Ukraine no time on the ball, eventually giving up possession and giving England control. It was wonderful to watch and showed the unity of the team. The way that we were controlling the tempo even when out of possession. It's this which gives me confidence.
All of the goals were well taken and we took every clear cut chance that came our way (I think). It's the first time that any team has kept 5 clean sheets at the beginning of a major tournament and as boring as I've found our performances until this point, you can't deny the effectiveness of the defence first approach (that I bemoan so much). To demonstrate this, Andriy Yarmolenko, arguably one of the players of the tournament so far and (in my opinion) Ukraine's greatest threat didn't get a look-in.
I won't go as far as saying it was the perfect performance because it wasn't. I think that Kyle Walker is a liability and I fear what Joakim Maehle will do to him in the semi-final and I am sitting, waiting for the Jordan Pickford mistake that will cost us a goal. But tonight, it didn't come and on Wednesday, we welcome Denmark to Wembley. A game we'll be expected to win against a team that has impressed me massively from the moment they took to the pitch against Russia.
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Harry Kane se destapo y cuidado ahora quien lo frena, en el partido contra Alemania, escuche comentaristas criticando, pidiendo que lo sustituyeran y todo, algo que me parecía una total locura, pues Kane es un delantero top 5 del mundo, ahora veo a Inglaterra en la final y son mi equipo a ganar, tienen un futuro brillante con muchos jugadores jovenes.
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I hope that you are correct and the bookmakers certainly agree with you. Denmark and especially Italy will be difficult to beat!
Because England are so defensive, it was difficult for Kane at the beginning of the tournament. We saw in the early games that subbing him off for Rashford made little difference. Which demonstrated that it wasn't Kane's fault but our tactics didn't allow him to get involved. It's amazing the difference that a goal makes to a striker.
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Harry Kane definitely redeemed himself today... for lack of a better way of putting it, today he really showed up and England is looking good.
It's going to be a tough game for Denmark, particularly since the fixture is at Wembley. I don't know what the current Covid attendance rules are in the UK at the moment, but the Wembley crowd alone is almost as good as a one-goal advantage, by itself.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to the game!
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I'm very much looking forward to it too and it has the potential to be one of the matches of the tournament. It looks like Wembley will be at 75% capacity so 60,000+ fans will be there and that could help us a lot. I hope that it helps us a lot 😉
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Eng.. all the way. If not now, then probably never.
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2 more difficult games. Fingers crossed.
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For the first time in a long time, England is standing up to be counted among the big boys.
I wish they go on to win it for my boy Saka...
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