England have booked a Euro 2020 semi-final clash against Denmark at Wembley after beating Ukraine 4-0, with Harry Kane to the bridle.

Played in a completely different atmosphere in Rome than seen at Wembley in the win over Germany, Gareth Southgate’s side set the tone with a four-minute goal when Kane finished on a precise pass from Raheem Sterling.

The English pressing limited Andriy Shevchenko’s team to scraps and Harry Maguire doubled the lead with a fantastic set-piece from Luke Shaw (46). Shaw wasn’t done there, however, and registered his third tournament assist moments later as he wrapped another sublime ball on Kane’s head (50).

England were now in the midst of a riot and Jordan Henderson – as a substitute – rose to lead another home hitting goal (63) – his first goal for his country.

The Three Lions, who have yet to concede a goal in this tournament, now face Denmark in the home semifinals on Wednesday, July 7.

How the Three Lions roared in Rome …

England were aiming to reach their first European semi-final since 1996 and started where they left off on Tuesday night at Wembley with Sterling and Kane in the foreground.

Ukraine’s game plan was clearly to sit down and absorb the pressure, but it went out the window when the intelligent Sterling provided a defensive pass to Kane, who was right on the end. wearing.

The skeptics fell silent. England was on the way.

With Mason Mount back on the side, England pushed higher than when they passed Germany, limiting Ukraine to limited possession. However, Roman Yaremchuk grabbed a capricious pass from Kyle Walker, but Jordan Pickford held on to his nearby post.

Southgate reportedly wanted England to turn their territorial dominance into goals, but clear chances were scarce until Jadon Sancho shot on goal from 12 yards after a smart build by Shaw. His effort was too close to Heorhiy Bushchan as Ukraine held on.

That resistance was broken almost immediately after half-time as England flexed their muscles on set pieces.

Kane won a free kick after being tripped and Shaw swung a cross that Maguire wanted to attack more than his marker as he passed Bushcan to double the lead.

They say 2-0 can be a dangerous lead, so England quickly changed that, grabbing a third with their next attack to get a foothold in the semi-final.

Kane was the man again as he bent over to come home his second of the night, Shaw again sending the ball into the box to find his unmarked captain six yards away.

Southgate took the opportunity to replace Declan Rice – on a warning to miss the semi-final – with Henderson.

Kane, playing like a possessed man and back at the top of his game, was denied a magnificent hat trick with a volley effort by a Bushcan flying stop. However, from the resulting corner, England gave the nation another unforgettable moment.

Mount this time allowed Henderson to score his first England goal in his 62nd cap. Of all the players to have scored at least once for England, Henderson’s 62 games are the longest a player has ever had to wait.

Southgate then sounded the changes as Kalvin Phillips, Shaw and Sterling were substituted before Kane came out with 18 minutes left.

It was England’s biggest win at the European Championship and their biggest win in the knockout stage of a major tournament. The signs are pointing in the right direction that football may well be coming home.

What the managers said

England boss Gareth Southgate: “We didn’t want to take a step back. We wanted to seize this opportunity rather than just hope to win or let fate play its part. I thought the players were decisive and ruthless all night.

“It’s fabulous. I guess it still sinks into the fact that it’s another semi-final – three in three years.

“We want to go further. I know what’s going to happen at home. It’s nice to see everyone on a Saturday night, beer in hand. They should enjoy it. It’s been a long year for everyone. two performances brought people so much happiness.

“It’s fabulous for our country – a semi-final at Wembley. Anyone can really expect that – it’s awesome.

“We are not satisfied. Tonight is another very enjoyable night for everyone, but even before the game was over I was thinking about the next challenge. We have never made a European Championship final. C is another opportunity to make history. “

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Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchenko: “The English team are really strong, individually and as a team as well, they have a great coach and they have reached the semi-finals, and I can see this team can make it to the final.

“We didn’t go back on our principles, we had some good parts of the game, but there are sometimes – set pieces, for example – today we didn’t work very well at it.”

Podcast: England in the land of dreams! Southgate’s perfect night as Ukraine humiliated

It doesn’t get much more comfortable than that. England’s controlled and dominant 4-0 win over Ukraine means they will face Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley on Wednesday. Do the stars line up on Gareth Southgate’s side? And how did he manage to rid England of the fear factor?

Alice Piper is joined by Rob Dorsett, Adam Bate and Gerard Brand to discuss victory in Rome, as Harry Kane returns to form, Luke Shaw presents Jose Mourinho in his new way and England keep another clean sheet. Everything looks rosy, right?

Listen to your podcast provider here

“Wembley will be an incredible opportunity”

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Harry Kane said: “It’s going to be incredible. What a moment for us as a team and as a nation.

“A lot of us who play now won’t get the chance to play a big game like that at Wembley in a major tournament anymore. It’s there for us. It’s an opportunity for us and we owe it to you. grasp with both hands.

“We have to enjoy being in this environment. After the game against Germany, morale was high and the stadium was buzzing, so hopefully we can use that energy again and really take the game to Denmark. “

“We will not be satisfied with a semi-final”

Harry Maguire speaking to the BBC: “It’s a great feeling, the consecutive semi-finals are a great achievement. I don’t want to be a party animal but we don’t stop there, we want to go further than in the World Cup. It’s a great progress we ‘make as a country.Long as continuous improvement.

“We have a lot of confidence in the dressing room. The first half was tough, but I think the second goal calmed us a lot. We deserved the third and fourth on the night.

“We have to recover for another big one to come. It’s hard to soak everything up when there’s another big one to come. The locker room will be great tonight, but tomorrow we’ll wake up and focus again, because this group of players will not settle for a semi-final. “

Opta Statistics

• England will play their third semi-final of the European Championship, having already done so in 1968 and 1996.
• Southgate will be only the second England manager to lead England in the semi-finals of the World Cup and the European Championship, after Alf Ramsey in 1966 and 1968.
• England have kept seven straight white sheets for the first time in their history, with the Three Lions running without conceding currently at 662 minutes.
• Sterling has been involved in 22 goals in his last 21 games for England (15 goals, 7 assists), while Kane has been involved in 27 goals in his last 26 for the Three Lions (18G, 9A).
• England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has kept five clean goals so far at EURO 2020 – no goalkeeper has ever kept more in a single edition of the competition before.

And after?

England face Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-final on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Wembley.