England had never won an opening game at the Euros until this Sunday when Kalvin Phillips linked up with Raheem Sterling to secure victory in front of fans at Wembley
Raheem Sterling ended England’s 53-year hoodoo of never having won an opening match at the Euros with a stunning strike as the Three Lions beat Croatia 1-0 at Wembley.
Gareth Southgate’s men had a point to prove against the nation that knocked them out of the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and started much the stronger side on Sunday.
But the Three Lions failed to capitalise on their bright spell and towards the end of the first half, Croatia had more of a foothold on the game, with Luka Modric pulling the strings.
Southgate made no substitutions at the break, and it seems his half-time team-talk did the trick.
England restarted on the front foot once again and it wasn’t long before Kalvin Phillips, who bossed the midfield despite the intimidating presence of Modric, broke forward and played the ball through to Sterling.
The Manchester City forward made no mistake as he was closed down by the keeper and lifted his shot into the back of the net.
ionigeria.com Nigerian Newspaper
