England did not take place at all for a quarter of an hour before Raheem Sterling failed with a robust long-range shot to Manuel Neuer. The game then turned a little. The Germans managed to take Harry Kane out of the game – after half an hour he was two (!) Ball contacts – but the fast Sterling and Bukayo Saka repeatedly pulled fouls that conjured up dangerous standards for the English.
Werner fails, Müller fails
But Germany remained more dangerous in the end, again with the move that was completely missing in the 2: 2 against the Hungarians: After a through pass behind Kai Havertz’s defensive chain into Werner’s run, Jordan Pickford prevented the 0 with a brilliant save: 1 (32nd minute).
The English only became dangerous again in injury time of the first round – at the invitation of Müller. After his Harakiri bad pass in the structure, Matthias Ginter and Mats Hummels were only able to prevent the goal against Sterling and Kane with two high-risk straps on the six-yard box.
Pickford towering against Havertz
During the break, in addition to concentrating on building up the game, Löw also demanded more determination from his protégés at the end, the Germans in any case immediately looked for the way forward. After one of the until then very rare forays by Robin Gosens, Havertz dared a volleyball from 20 meters, hit the ball sensationally – but Pickford steered the ball over the bar just as well.
It was the most spectacular scene of the game – and it stayed that way for a long time. As a result, the effort not to make the crucial mistake here dominated, clearly the willingness to take risks.
Sterling hits, Müller’s nerves fail
The English celebrated this security thinking so much that they didn’t get a single shot on goal for 30 minutes. But with the first in the second round they hit. Substitute Jack Grealish served Luke Shaw on the left, who fitted sharply in the middle – Sterling slipped away behind Hummels and slid in.
It was Southgate’s tactic that paid off: to stand even more securely in the back and wait for the lucky punch in front. But Löw’s idea of the deep pass almost came to fruition when Müller approached Pickford completely alone after Havertz-Steilpass. He was already speculating on the wrong corner – but Löw’s lead wolf who had been brought back failed his nerves.
Kane creates his happy ending
When frustration spread afterwards and the defensive showed signs of disintegration, Kane ended his goalless nightmare five minutes before the end – neither Loew nor his players had an answer to this 2-0. For the English it is now on July 3rd in the quarter-finals in Rome against the winner of the duel between Sweden and Ukraine. What Löw will do after his replacement by Hansi Flick is still completely open.