The quarterfinal round has concluded in the Euro 2020 tournament, with England and Denmark booking the last two tickets to the semifinals. England produced another stellar display by thrashing Ukraine in Rome, while Denmark's fairytale run continued with a narrow win over the Czech Republic.
England just two wins away from its maiden Euro title
England barged into the semifinals on Saturday with an emphatic 4-0 win over Ukraine at Stadio Olimpico. It was an impressive win by the Three Lions, who reached a second successive semifinal in a major tournament, having qualified for the last four in the 2018 World Cup.
Harry Kane quickly settled England's nerves, breaking the deadlock after just four minutes, poking home Raheem Sterling's superb through-pass. They doubled their advantage just seconds after the half-time break with Harry Maguire heading in Luke Shaw's free-kick.
Kane scored his second goal of the match just minutes later, knocking in a header from yet another perfect delivery from Shaw. Jordan Henderson piled more misery on Ukraine in the 63rd minute, scoring his first international goal in his 62nd appearance for England with a header from Mason Mount's corner kick.
Kane almost completed a hat-trick with a fine left-foot volley finish, but his shot attempt was thwarted and turned on to the post by Georgi Bushchan. Manager Gareth Southgate surely will be delighted with Kane's resurgence after some were questioning his captain's spot in the team after a string of poor performances in the group stage. Kane has repaid his manager's faith in him, now scoring three goals in the knockout stages.
Another player who is having a revival in this tournament is Shaw. He has been a vital cog in England's run to the semifinal, providing solid defense down the left side of England while also being one of their main creator of goals. He now has three assists in the knockout stages, with Shaw setting up Sterling's opening goal against Germany and England's first two goals in the second half against Ukraine.
England's defense was once again superb against Ukraine as the Three Lions recorded their fifth clean sheet of the tournament. Jordan Pickford deserves all the plaudits as no goalkeeper has ever kept more clean sheets in a single staging of the competition before.
Related Article: Euro 2020 Quarterfinals: Spain, Italy Forge Semifinal Tie; Belgium and Switzerland Exit Tournament
Denmark continues fairytale run
Pickford and co. will have their work cut out for them in the semifinals as they will next face red-hot Denmark. The Danes extended their winning streak in the tournament to three matches with a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.
Thomas Delaney opened the scoring in the fifth minute for Denmark with a fine header from a corner before Kasper Dolberg doubled that advantage minutes before half-time with a well-taken volley.
Patrik Schick gave some hope to the Czechs with a goal in the 49th minute, his fifth in the tournament that took him to level with Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Boot. Their rally fell short, however, as the Czechs lost for the first time to Denmark at a Euros finals.
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