Raheem Sterling has singled out England teammates Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice after the 2-0 win over Germany in the UEFA Euro 2020 Round of 16.
Speaking to BBC, as relayed by Pundit Arena, England superstar Raheem Sterling has lavished praise on midfield duo Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice after the Three Lions beat Germany 2-0 in the UEFA Euro 2020.
Coming into the game, the history was against England, given that they had never beaten Germany at Wembley since the 1966 World Cup final. However, that changed on Tuesday night as Gareth Southgate’s men put up a spirited performance to topple Joachim Low & co. 2-0.
Even the people betting on Euro 2020 would have had a hard time envisaging such a result, especially after Germany outclassed Portugal in the previous round.
Second-half goals from Raheem Sterling and captain Harry Kane proved to be decisive, but it was a team effort from the entire set of players. Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker were rock-solid in defence while Luke Shaw will have silenced Jose Mourinho for a long time after yet another stunning wing-back display. Jack Grealish made a stunning impact coming on from the bench as well.
It has been a special tournament for Sterling himself on a personal level, with the 26-year-old scoring three of England’s four goals in the European Championships. The winger, though, speaking after the game, highlighted the midfield partnership of Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice, praising the duo for its relentless energy and work rate, terming them as ‘animals’.
“I celebrated and for half a second I thought, ‘let it not be offside’. I’m really happy it went in and got the win. We knew the intensity we can play at and not a lot of teams can deal with it. The two players in midfield, Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips, ate up the grass and were animals in there. We take it game by game, recover and focus for the next one,” the Manchester City superstar said after the game.
Phillips has been enjoying a dream run in the Euros, which has resulted in interest from Real Madrid as well as Manchester City, while Rice, too, has been extremely reliable for the Three Lions. The duo is very much deserving of the praise that came their way, but the focus now shifts to the quarter-final, where Southgate & co. will face the winners of Sweden vs Ukraine.