England off to a Sterling start at Euro 2020

Expectations are always high for England heading into any major tournament, even when not necessarily justified.

Yet, going into Euro 2020 there was a different feel around the Three Lions, with a handful of rising stars on the roster and the opportunity to play most of its games at home.

England fanned those flames with a 1-0 victory against Croatia on Sunday in front of 18,497 fans at Wembley Stadium in London, where they were the better team from the opening kickoff. Manchester City midfielder Raheem Sterling scored the lone goal in the 57th minute.

“I don’t know if it’s pressure when you’re playing in front of your home crowd, it’s an extra boost,” Sterling said post-game. “You have to have a clear head and just be excited to be in front of your home fans. You have people behind you, supporting you. Coming from the hotel, it’s a great feeling and we just have to try and use it to our advantage.”

With 11 venues being used for the tournament, England is one of a handful of teams who get to play all their Euro 2020 group matches at home. They’ll stay in London for the round of 16 by topping Group D, and with the semifinals and final scheduled for Wembley, could play six of seven matches at home if they go all the way.

England’s only major tournament win was at home at the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

While it’s too soon to plan the parade, the manner of the victory against Croatia, which defeated England in the semifinal of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, is breeding real optimism that football can actually come home this time.

“It’s early days, it’s the first game,” Sterling said. “It’s great to get off to a win, but we’ve got a lot to do, we’ve got a lot to build on from that performance. But at the same time, the most important thing is the togetherness in the team; you saw at the end, the boys were digging in deep.”

While the match statistics were fairly even, England looked the sharper, crisper team from the onset.

Coach Gareth Southgate, whose team selections are scrutinized more than Toronto Maple Leafs’ line combinations, went with an attacking formation, placing Sterling, 26, Mason Mount, 22, and Phil Foden, 21, up in support of striker Harry Kane.

Foden nearly scored on his first touch of the game, taking a pass at the top of the penalty area, cutting inside and hammering a low, left-footed shot off the goalpost five minutes into the game.

Just three minutes later, central midfielder Kalvin Phillips forced an excellent save out of Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic on a ball that dropped to him at the top of the penalty area.

“I was really pleased with the way we settled so quickly,” Southgate said.

“We have some young players, some inexperienced international players; not only a tough opponent, but a big occasion on a sweltering-hot day (29C), every reason to potentially look nervous at the start, but they didn’t — with or without the ball.

“They were composed and carried out what we wanted to do in terms of pressing brilliantly. Although it was always going to be a game of few clear chances, I thought we always looked the bigger threat, really.”

Sterling, who by his own admission had a difficult season with Manchester City, got the start up on the right side and scored 12 minutes into the second half to justify his selection.

Sterling took a through pass from Phillips in behind the Croatia defence and muscled a shot past Livakovic just before a lunging challenge from defender Sime Vrsaljko. It was Sterling’s 15th goal for his country.

“There are a lot of reasons why I haven’t scored with my club, but that’s irrelevant now. I’m here with England, I’m enjoying my football and I’m just happy to score,” Sterling said. “It was brilliant (by Phillips). He kept driving with the ball. It was a lovely bit of skill to come inside, and it was a lovely weighted pass.

“It’s been a long season for me, I couldn’t wait to get here ... I couldn’t wait to get started, I knew it would be a positive one.”

Sterling had 14 goals in 49 games in all competitions for Man City this past season, down from 31, 25 and 23 the previous three years. He had 10 in 31 Premier League matches.

After falling behind in the game, Croatia never really threatened England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

England hosts Scotland on Friday and the Czech Republic on June 22 to round out group play.