MX23RW : Monday, December 16 02:29:49| >> :120:54662:54662:

Five things we learned from England's crushing win over Ukraine

Five things we learned from England's crushing win over Ukraine
© Reuters
England beat Ukraine 4-0 to march into the last four.

England booked a semi-final showdown with Denmark at Euro 2020 after a 4-0 quarter-final rout over Ukraine in Rome.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the talking points from a wonderful night for England in Italy.

Courage of convictions

Ukraine v England – UEFA Euro 2020 – Quarter Final – Stadio Olimpico
England's Harry Maguire celebrates his goal against Ukraine (Marco Iacobucci/PA)

England's three previous quarter-finals in the European Championship have gone to extra time and penalties with the Three Lions only progressing once – beating Spain in Euro '96.

Defeats to Portugal in 2004 and Italy in 2012 continued the pain and while they occasionally looked shaky at the back in the first half there was never any real concern in Rome.

Goals from Harry Maguire and Harry Kane early in the second half settled any nerves and the rout marked England out as contenders.

Confident Kane

Ukraine v England – UEFA Euro 2020 – Quarter Final – Stadio Olimpico
England's Harry Kane opened the scoring in Rome (Marco Iacobucci/PA)

Strikers thrive on confidence and a third goal in two games has given Kane lift-off in the tournament at just the right time.

The furore about his three-game barren spell in Group D was overblown and, while he may not have been playing in top gear, he remained England's best forward.

His predatory instincts were on show in the Stadio Olimpico and class will always tell.

Sancho on show

The forward – poised to complete his £73million move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United – made his first start of the tournament.

Given his form last season, when he scored 17 goals, there had been questions why he had been underused but Gareth Southgate, and his players, trust the system.

He showed flashes of his class and to have a fresh weapon like the 21-year-old to come in demonstrates England's depth and threat.

No way, Jose

Ukraine v England – UEFA Euro 2020 – Quarter Final – Stadio Olimpico
Luke Shaw (left) excelled against Ukraine (Nick Potts/PA)

Luke Shaw starred for England, claiming two assists for Maguire and Kane as the Three Lions took Ukraine apart early in the second half.

The left-back, stricken by a serious broken leg in 2015, has fought his way back and has underlined his recovery this tournament.

He suffered a torrid time at Manchester United under former manager Jose Mourinho – who also criticised his set-pieces after the Germany game – but has thrown the barbs back in the face of the new Roma manager in his own backyard.

Can England go all the way?

Denmark await in the semi-final at Wembley on Wednesday and with 60,000 due to attend – the biggest since the start of the pandemic – England will have a partisan crowd on their side.

The Three Lions will never have a better chance of reaching their first major final since 1966, especially after a brilliant win in Rome.

The Danes, using Christian Eriksen's shocking cardiac arrest in their first game as inspiration, have special momentum but can be overcome by an increasingly confident England.

ID:453883: cacheID:453883:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10133:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho pictured on April 21, 2021
Read Next:
Gareth Southgate: 'Jadon Sancho is training at his best level'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Aston Villa167452425-125
7Bournemouth157352320324
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!