MX23RW : Friday, November 8 09:37:01| >> :120:49245:49245:

Euro 2020 day three: Raheem Sterling fires England past Croatia

Euro 2020 day three: Raheem Sterling fires England past Croatia
© Reuters
Gareth Southgate's side saw off Croatia, while there were also wins for Austria and Holland.

England won their opening match at the European Championships for the first time with a 1-0 Euro 2020 Group D victory over Croatia at Wembley.

Raheem Sterling, who has now been directly involved in 19 goals in his last 17 England matches with 13 goals and six assists, converted man-of-the-match Kalvin Phillips' pass early in the second half to get Gareth Southgate's side off to the ideal start.

England's players left the pitch to a chorus of 1996 anthem 'Football's Coming Home' from the majority of the 22,500 fans inside the stadium.

In Group C, North Macedonia's first appearance at a major tournament ended in a 3-1 defeat against Austria, who recorded their first win at a Euros, while Holland, who failed to qualify for the last World Cup and Euros, made up for lost time with an entertaining 3-2 win over Ukraine.

Tweet of the day

England substitute Jude Bellingham, who set a new record for the youngest player to feature in the tournament's history at 17 years and 349 days, appears to have a celebrity fan.

Arnautovic on the Mark

Marko Arnautovic's (right) late goal in the 3-1 over North Macedonia was his 27th for his country, meaning he is one short of moving into joint third in their all-time list
Marko Arnautovic's late goal in the 3-1 over North Macedonia was his 27th for his country, meaning he is one short of moving into joint third in their all-time list (Robert Ghement/AP).

Quote of the day

Holland almost blow return to the big stage

Holland's players celebrate after scoring a second goal against Ukraine
Relief all round in Amsterdam as Holland snatch a late win (Olaf Kraak/AP)

Holland squandered a two-goal lead on their return to major tournament football after a seven-year absence, only to score an 85th-minute winner to beat Ukraine 3-2 in Amsterdam.

Stat attack

North Macedonia's Goran Pandev played in his first major tournament 7,312 days after his international debut. The Genoa forward celebrated by scoring his 38th international goal a month before his 38th birthday – unfortunately his side lost 3-1 to Austria

Up next?

June 14:
Scotland v Czech Republic (Group D, Glasgow, 1400)
Poland v Slovakia (Group E, St Petersburg, 1700)
Spain v Sweden (Group E, Seville 2000)

ID:451257: cacheID:451257:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7899:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Scotland manager Steve Clarke on June 6, 2021
Read Next:
The major talking points as Scotland prepare to take on Czech Republic
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!