Sterling & Kane combine to make history, but England's opener was a bad omen

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By Conor Laird

Published: July 3, 2021 8:51 pm

Last Updated: July 3, 2021 8:54 pm

A pair of noteworthy statistics have come to the fore online this evening, on the back of England taking the lead in their meeting with Ukraine.

Table of Contents

Kane strikes

Gareth Southgate’s men are of course locked in Euro 2020 quarter-final action as things stand.

After getting the better of Germany in impressive fashion last time out, the Three Lions were pitted against Ukraine in the competition’s Last-8.

England, for obvious reasons, headed into proceedings as overwhelming favourites, with Jordan Pickford having not allowed a single goal to make its way past him over the nation’s opening four fixtures of the summer.

In turn, it did not come as much of a surprise when it was indeed the Three Lions who went on to open the scoring at the Stadio Olimpico.

A classy surge and subsequent through ball on the part of Raheem Sterling saw the Manchester City wide-man carve open the Ukrainian backline, allowing Harry Kane to slot beyond the onrushing Heorhiy Bushchan, for his 2nd goal in two games:

Sterling >>>> Kane ⚽

What a ball! What a start for England!

Watch and listen to #UKRENG on the BBC https://t.co/SgXUFtqSx6 #Euro2020 #bbceuro2020 pic.twitter.com/IFtfHIAFbw

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 3, 2021

In the process of combining for the game’s opener, meanwhile, Kane and Sterling etched their respective names into the English history books, as the most prolific pairing since the turn of the century:

6 – Raheem Sterling has assisted Harry Kane six times for England – this is the most one player has assisted another for the Three Lions in all competitions in the 21st century. Wavelength. #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/179KZYGlaV

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 3, 2021

Bad omen?

England, in turn, have since maintained their advantage through to the interval in Rome, with Southgate’s men, as things stand, remaining heavy favourites to book their spot in the semi-finals.

Another statistic to have surfaced on the back of Kane’s strike, however, will perhaps concern those of a superstitious persuasion.

As revealed by the reliable Opta, England’s opener this evening marked the sixth occasion on which the Three Lions have found the net within the first four minutes of a European Championship fixture.

Remarkably, though, they subsequently failed to secure victory on any of the previous five occasions:

6 – Harry Kane’s strike was England’s sixth goal scored within the opening four minutes in European Championship history – though the Three Lions have gone on to win none of the previous five games when doing so (D2 L3). Warning. #EURO2020 https://t.co/NCxjwPgSie

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 3, 2021