It’s the summer offseason for Manchester City, but there is still a ton of news to discuss today, in the wake of England winning 1-0 over Croatia in the Group stage opener, at Euro 2020, for both teams. In addition to all the City related Three Lions developments, we also have some City player news out of Portugal camp too.
Defender Joao Cancelo has been ruled out of the entire Euros after testing positive for COVID-19.
He is said to be doing well after being placed into isolation. He was replaced in the squad by Diogo Dalot, the former Manchester United man who is now with AC Milan.
Shifting over to England, Raheem Sterling got the starting XI nod over Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho today, and he rewarded manager Gareth Southgate by scoring the game’s only goal. It was his first ever scoring strike in a major international tournament, and he caused problems for Croatia all day with his pace.
See below for a really cool chart/graph type object describing the buildup to his goal.
England’s opponents had very few real scoring chances, and the first true chance in the game came from the English side. It was off the foot of Phil Foden, who hit the post. Foden, who was a major threat early on, but faded down the stretch, would later draw a yellow card.
17 – Raheem Sterling's goal for @England completed a 17-pass move, the most passes before an England goal at the EUROs since Steven Gerrard scored following a 19-pass move against Switzerland in 2004. Link-up. #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/icqtyrvw9V
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 13, 2021
Elsewhere, Kyle Walker had a so-so to solid kind of game defensively at the right back position while John Stones put in a solid display, showing a real threat from attacking on set pieces.
This was the first time England emerged victorious in their opening game of a European Championship tournament, a competition that they have never won.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.