In the last quarter final matchup of Euro 2020 Ukraine faced off against England, and while it may have been considered a game of two halves England turned up the heat in the second half to crush their Ukrainian opponents 4-0 to send them to their first Euro semi-final in 25 years.
Surprise packet Ukraine scored in the last minute of extra time against Sweden in the most dramatic of circumstances to qualify, while England bested Germany 2-0 to make it this far in the tournament and have kept six consecutive clean sheets in their last six international matches.
England may not have been the most prolific goal scoring team at this Euro Championships, but they got off to a flying start in Rome, taking just 4 minutes to draw first blood at Stadio Olimpico. England's lead goal scorer Raheem Sterling turned provider by slipping a beautiful through ball to captain Harry Kane who made it look easy to score England's first.
Not to be written off so quickly, Ukraine composed themselves admirably. Manager Andriy Shevchenko changed his back 5 to 4, and Ukraine started to turn some heads in the first half by creating an overload in midfield and keeping England on their toes. Though they failed to register a shot on target, they kept themselves well within reach by the half time break.
After the break, England once again came flying out of the gates to score their second in just the first minute of the second half. Gifted with a free kick from a foul on Kane, Manchester United's Luke Shaw stepped up to deliver a pinpoint cross to the head of Harry Maguire and the towering defender could not miss.
Kane celebrates
From this point on it became cruise control for the Three Lions as they added their third barely five minutes later. Shaw turned provider once again as he delivered yet another cross from open play, this time met by the head of Harry Kane to put him at two goals for the evening.
The match had decidedly been put to bed by this stage, however England were not done by any means. Ukraine goalkeeper Heorhiy Bushchan did well to deny Kane his hattrick but could not stop England's fourth. A corner from Mason Mount was emphatically headed home by Jordan Henderson, giving the Liverpool captain his first international goal.
This was England's highest goal tally in a single match at the Euro Championships since defeating Croatia 4-2 in 2004, and their clean sheet record remained intact.
They will be considered favourites as they return home to Wembley Stadium to face Denmark, another tournament dark horse, in the second semi-final. The winner will take on Spain or Italy in the Euro Championship final at Wembley Stadium.
EURO 2020 - QUARTER-FINAL
Ukraine – 0
England – 4 (Kane 3', Maguire 45', Kane 50', Henderson 62')
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Man of the Match: Harry Kane
