England picked up a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in the European Championships at Wembley Stadium earlier tonight.
Gareth Southgate‘s side were already through to the round of 16 before kickoff, and it was a bit of a dead rubber for the Three Lions.
Raheem Sterling scored the only goal of the game for England, and here at Anytime Football, we look at the three major talking points from tonight’s contest.
Saka and Grealish
Gareth Southgate has been heavily criticized for his team selections in the Euros so far. Still, his decision to start Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka tonight showed that England have a lot of strength in depth, and the manager needs to use his attacking options more often.
It will be interesting to see if Southgate is willing to give an opportunity to Jadon Sancho in the next round.
Both Saka and Grealish were extremely impressive tonight, and most of England’s attacking play went through them.
Sterling and Phillips – the stars of the group stages
Raheem Sterling and Kalvin Phillips have been outstanding for England in the group stages of the European Championships.
The Manchester City winger has called twice in three matches, and Kalvin Phillips has been rock solid in the defensive midfield role. The Leeds United midfielder has played every minute for his country so far, and he’s yet to concede a goal.
England would have struggled to get through to the next round without Sterling’s goals.
Luke Shaw proves his worth
The Manchester United left-back was given a well-deserved start tonight, and he proved that he’s the best left-back the country has to offer right now.
Luke Shaw was one of the best players on the pitch, and he was outstanding defensively. He did well to support the likes of Sterling in the attack as well.
Southgate used Kieran Trippier as his left-back against Croatia, but Shaw has made the left-back spot his own in the last two matches. It will be difficult for the Atletico Madrid star to get back into the side now.
