England start well against Croatia

The first day of the group stage of Euro 2020 continues this Sunday and we were entitled to a shock in group D. England and Croatia thus met at Wembley for a match reminiscent of the World Cup 2018. Indeed, Croatia had won 2-1 after extra time. For this group match at home, England opted for a rather attractive 4-2-3-1 with Phil Foden, Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling in support of Harry Kane. For its part, Croatia played in 4-3-3 with young Josko Gvardiol in defense and a trio of Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic in the midfield. Driven by its public, England started strong in the meeting. Found on the right side, Phil Foden fixed Josko Gvardiol and unleashed a heavy shot that ended on the left post of Dominik Livakovic (6th). The Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper was quickly put to work and had to work again to repel an attempt by Kalvin Phillips (9th). Relying in particular on the left side with a voluntary Raheem Sterling, but author of many bad choices, England put the Croatian defense to work. Nevertheless, the checkered formation raised its head at the end of the first period with in particular a recovery of Ivan Perisic (27th). Just before the break, Kieran Trippier fired a dangerous free kick, but his shot ended in the Croatian wall.

Back from the locker room, Croatia returned with good intentions and Luka Modric hit hard on the right in front of the English area. Jordan Pickford captured the ball (55th). A turning point in the match as England opened the scoring in stride. Well served, Kalvin Phillips dropped a love ball in the box for Raheem Sterling. The latter was not missed despite the return of Sime Vrsaljko and propelled the ball into the net (1-0, 57th). Confident after this slight advantage, England pushed to score a second goal. On a cross from Mason Mount on the left, Harry Kane was at the reception at the far post, but he was hampered by Josko Gvardiol and missed his shot with the right foot (61st). The Croatian response was not required with Ante Rebic who missed his attempt (65th). Although a scorer, Raheem Sterling lacked efficiency and his new attempt ended in the English sky (74th). Croatia was trying to put in the ingredients to come back, but that was not enough. England held their 1-0 victory to the end and finally started a Euro with a victory. Bodes well for the rest of the competition. The next match in this Group D will feature Scotland and the Czech Republic at 3pm tomorrow.

Relive the film of the meeting on our live commentary