London: England started their Euro 2020 campaign on a positive note with a 1-0 win over Croatia on Sunday. Raheem Sterling, who was under a lot of scanner, scored the lone goal of the match to seal the game for the Three Lions at Wembley Stadium. Croatia were very gutsy in the defence but were underwhelming when it came to converting the chances as their attackers were out of position most of the time in the game.
England’s manager Gareth Southgate took a gamble to leave out Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford and chose under-fire Sterling over them. The Manchester City player had a tough time last season including the UEFA Champions League final, where he had an off-night. However, he bounced back and created a lot of problems for the Croatian defence with his pace.
In the first half, the game was well balanced with both teams failing to score any goal. England had some great opportunities in the opening minutes of the game with Phil Foden hitting the pole. Apart from that, both teams played some gutsy football till halftime.
⏰ RESULT ⏰
🏴 Sterling nets as England win EURO opener for first time
🇭🇷 Croatia lose first group game in this tournament for first time🤔 Who impressed you most? #EURO2020
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 13, 2021
England entered the second half looking to prove a point and they did it with a goal in the 57th minute. It was sheer brilliance from Kalvin Phillips who produce a scintillating pace to assist Sterling. Phillips was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch with his creativity and presence of mind. The defence had a decent day as the opposition didn’t create any serious trouble for them and Jordan Pickford was in his elements with his gloves on.
For Croatia, Luka Modric tried everything in the book to create a couple of chances but didn’t get enough support from his teammates to give a tough fight to England. Ivan Perisic was the other senior player who had a good day on the field for Croatia but the duo will not be happy after returning to the dressing room without any point.