England 1-0 Croatia: Sterling goal sees England earn their first-ever opening-day win

England beat Croatia 1-0 at Wembley, as the Three Lions got off to a successful Euro 2020 campaign. 

The first five minutes of the match were played at a very fast pace, and Phil Foden had a great chance to open the scoring early. However, the 21-year-old’s effort hit the inside of the post and stayed out as the scores stayed level. 

England had a number of great chances in the first chance, particularly with Raheem Sterling. The Manchester City winger was played in by Mason Mount using a perfectly measured long ball, but nothing was to come of the attempt. 

Croatia struggled to get into England’s penalty box in the initial stages of the game, and had to grow into the game slowly. However, they were much less energetic than the England team and their defense was exposed on numerous occasions. 

That was what led to the only goal of the game, scored by Raheem Sterling in the second half. Sterling ran unmarked through the middle, as Kalvin Phillips played him in. And although the shot wasn’t the best placed, the power was enough to beat the goalkeeper and give England their first ever opening-day victory in the history of the competition. 

Croatia lacked the instinct in the opposition half to get the crucial goal to level things up. Luka Modric provided the only spark in midfield, but it was not enough to prize away even a point from the fixture. They will be hoping to set things right in their next match against Czech Republic on Friday. England, on the other hand, take on Scotland on the same day.