ROME (Reuters) - England thumped Ukraine 4-0 on Saturday as Harry Kane’s double helped them reach their first European Championship semifinal in 25 years in emphatic style and set up a showdown with Denmark at Wembley.
Gareth Southgate’s impressive side hit four goals in the knockout stage of a major tournament for only the second time, the first being in their 1966 World Cup final win against Germany, and kept a record seventh consecutive clean sheet.
“There was a lot of pressure on us as we were favourites to win this game. To perform like we did tonight, a clean sheet, four goals, it was the perfect night,” Kane said.
The England captain raced onto a clever Raheem Sterling through ball to fire in the opener from close range after four minutes at the Stadio Olimpico, England’s earliest goal in a Euros match since 2004.
Harry Maguire headed home a second less than a minute into the second half and Kane soon nodded in his side’s third as Ukraine’s resistance crumbled.