90min

Twitter reacts as England ensure home advantage for Euro 2020 round of 16 tie

By Matt O'Connor-Simpson

Sterling scored the only goal for England
Sterling scored the only goal for England / Robin Jones/Getty Images
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Czech Republic 0-1 England was a real game of two halves. The first 45 minutes were the most exciting of the Three Lions campaign so far.

The second was boring. Really boring.

That did not matter to most England fans, though. All that they cared about was that the team had ensured they'll have home advantage in the round of 16 with the tie set to be played at Wembley next Tuesday.

Before the action we had the excitement of Southgate's starting XI being revealed. Thanks to Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell both having to self-isolate and the fact that England had already qualified, there was potential for some interesting inclusions.

So it proved, with Our 21's very own Bukayo Saka handed a maiden start, alongside Harry Maguire and Jack Grealish. Unfortunately, there was no place in the side for Jadon Sancho and some people were not impressed.

Inside two minutes England fans across the country thought Raheem Sterling had given them the lead with a clever lob...only for the ball to clip the post and bounce clear.

Damn.

Just 10 minutes later Sterling would get the Three Lions faithful out of their seats. After top work from Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish found himself in a crossing position and he placed one straight onto the head of his teammate, who made no mistake.

The boy from Brent wheeled off in celebration, once again answering those who have questioned his place in the team.

That wasn't all that happened in the first half either. Harry Kane also went close, although perhaps he should have squared it Sterling. Where have we heard that before?

Saka and Grealish continued to impress as well. All in all, a great opening 45 minutes.

After the break England reverted to type, settling for sterile possession and keeping their opponents at arm's length.

Most agreed that the game was crying out for Sancho, but Southgate was not budging.

In the end Sancho would get on - for all of six minutes at the end.

The Dortmund man helped his side see out the result, in what was a professional if not particularly exciting second half display.

The overall reaction to the result was one of quiet satisfaction, although most recognised that there are bigger tests to come.

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