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ENGLAND BEAT DENMARK 2-1 TO BOOK A DATE WITH ITALY IN EURO 2020 FINAL

Harry Kane propelled England to just their second major tournament final as Gareth Southgate’s men secured an extra-time penalty win against Denmark to set-up Sunday’s match against Italy.

Italy lie in wait after a tense, pulsating semi-final under the arch on Wednesday night, when Simon Kjaer’s own goal cancelled out a superb Mikkel Damsgaard free-kick before Kane sealed a 2-1 extra-time win after his penalty was saved.

England made a start as electric as the atmosphere at Wembley, but Damsgaard’s stunning 25-yard free-kick silenced the home support as the 21-year-old continued to shine in place of the sadly absent Christian Eriksen.

It was the first goal England had conceded during an unusually straightforward summer, but they responded well to the setback and Kjaer turned 19-year-old Bukayo Saka’s cross into his own goal under pressure from Raheem Sterling.

Kasper Schmeichel had superbly denied the latter moments earlier and the goalkeeper shone throughout a second half in which the video assistant referee cleared a Christian Norgaard challenge on Kane in the box.

The Denmark goalkeeper continued to impress in extra-time but could not stop England progressing to the final, with Kane slotting home after the Leicester man saved his initial spot-kick after Sterling was judged to have been fouled.

Denmark grew into proceedings, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg seeing a shot saved and Jordan Pickford surviving a lackadaisical moment.

Kasper Hjulmand’s well-drilled side continued to push as Damsgaard bent wide, with Pickford entering England’s record books by breaking World Cup winner Gordon Banks’ long-standing 720-minute record without conceding. He only managed to extend it to 726 minutes.

Luke Shaw fouled Andreas Christensen when a free-kick came over, giving Denmark another chance from a better position.

Damsgaard stood over it and unleashed a thumping 25-yard strike that beat Pickford, sending Denmark’s red wall into raptures in the 30th minute.

England did eventually settle back into a rhythm and Schmeichel spread himself well to stop Sterling turning home a Kane cross from close range.

It was a missed opportunity that the forward helped atone for in the 39th minute.

Saka kept his cool and drove over a cross from the right that Kjaer turned into his own goal under pressure from Sterling.

Harry Maguire saw a goalbound header superbly denied one-handed by Schmeichel in a second half that England were controlling as Denmark began to retreat deeper.

Southgate turned to fan favourite Jack Grealish to change the dynamics and the VAR decided against awarding a penalty after reviewing a clumsy Norgaard challenge on Kane.

England continued to push right into stoppage-time, when Maguire saw another header saved by Schmeichel and Kane’s point-blank effort was blocked by Kjaer.

Grealish stung the palms as the onslaught continued, with fleet-footed Sterling creating havoc for the tiring Danish defenders.

Joakim Maehle was adjudged to have ended Sterling’s mazy run and Makkelie pointed to the spot. There was another ball on the pitch during a phase of play that the VAR reviewed, but the decision stood.

Kane stepped up and Schmeichel saved, only for the ball to land kindly for him six yards out to turn home and spark bedlam in the stands.

Denmark tried desperately to level in the second period but a Martin Braithwaite shot was the biggest threat they managed, with Sterling denied by Schmeichel before the final whistle sent the 60,000-plus crowd wild.

‘Sweet Caroline’ echoed around the ground as England celebrated reaching their first European Championship final.

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Roberto Mancini: ‘We must rest ahead of Euro 2020 final’

Roberto Mancini was delighted by Italy‘s fight and spirit after sealing a shot at European Championship glory by beating Spain on penalties following a scintillating semi-final.

England or Denmark lie in wait for the Azzurri back at Wembley on Sunday after edging past La Roja in a pulsating clash under the arch on Tuesday evening.

Italy struck first as Federico Chiesa curled home a sublime effort, but Spain substitute Alvaro Morata finished a fine team move to send the match into extra time.

The match would end 1-1 after 120 minutes and had to be settled by spot-kicks, with Morata denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma before Jorginho coolly swept home to seal 4-2 shootout triumph for Mancini’s men.

“First and foremost, we’re delighted to have been able to provide this wonderful evening’s entertainment to the Italian people,” the former Manchester City boss said.

“Now we still have one more game to go and we wanted to do exactly that if possible.

“We knew it was going to be a very tough match because in terms of ball possession Spain are the best around.

“They caused us problems. We had to dig in when we needed to. We tried to score or create opportunities when we could.

“It was a very open match and of course there were some issues because we did not have too much possession.

“However, we wanted to make it into the final and we kept trying right until the end.

“As ever, penalties are a lottery but I really want to take my hat off to Spain. They’re a wonderful team.”

Italy have impressed throughout the Euros and stretched their unbeaten run to a jaw-dropping 33 matches, but Mancini knows they have not achieved anything yet.

“I thank the players because they believed right from day one that we could create something incredible,” he said.

“We haven’t done everything we need to. There’s still one step to go. Now we have to rest up because this really was very challenging.

“I did say to them before the match this would be our hardest game of the competition because when you go into your sixth match in such quick succession with all the travelling that we’ve had to do it does become very tiring.

“We certainly struggled with Spain’s ball possession, had some issues, but we wanted to make the final.”

Spain shone for large spells against Italy but a lack of cutting edge proved costly for Enrique’s men.

“It’s not a sad night for me,” the Spanish manager said. “Not at all.

“Of course there’s disappointment but that’s elite football. You have to be able to win and lose.

“We were very pleased to win the penalty shootout in the quarter-finals but we can’t get desperate now. We have to just congratulate our opponents.

“You’re always thinking about the present, thinking about being competitive.

“I said at the start we were one of the eight teams that could have won it. I don’t think I was wrong about that.

“I think we now go home knowing we competed and were one of the best teams at the competition.”

Enrique said he gave his players an A- grade for their tournament and threw his support behind Morata after the striker’s crucial spot-kick was saved.

“Well, he has an adductor issue and it really says a lot about his personality that even despite that he wanted to take a penalty,” the Spain boss said in the post-match press conference.

“He has gone through some tough times during this competition but he was brilliant.

“He really created some uncertainty within the Italy ranks so he was excellent.

“I haven’t been able to see him because he’s had to go to doping control, but I will go and see him now.”

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HARRY KANE SCORES BRACE, AS ENGLAND THRASH UKRAINE 4-0 TO SAIL INTO EURO SEMI-FINALS

Harry Kane struck twice as England thrashed Ukraine 4-0 on Saturday to reach their first European Championship semifinal since 1996 and set up a clash with Denmark.

The England captain raced onto a 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.

Substitute Jordan Henderson completed the rout with his first international goal to ensure England’s comfortable passage into the last four.

Gareth Southgate’s side will face Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday for a place in the final after the Danes defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 in Baku.

Fans had barely settled in their seats by the time England took the lead with a well-worked move.

Sterling cut in off the left wing and slid a through ball into a pocket of space behind the defence for Kane to race through and guide into the net with a neat finish.

Ukraine mustered their first effort when Kyle Walker gave the ball away in midfield and Roman Yaremchuk raced through to draw a good save by Jordan Pickford from a tight angle, while England’s Declan Rice and Jadon Sancho had shots beaten away by Georgiy Bushchan before halftime.

But England flexed their muscles after the break and ended the game as a contest within five minutes of the restart, helped by two fine assists from Luke Shaw.

The left-back whipped a free-kick onto Maguire’s head for a close-range finish in the first minute of the second half before steering a perfect delivery towards Kane for a simple close-range header four minutes later.

The goal sent Kane level with Alan Shearer as England’s second-top scorer at major tournaments with nine goals, behind Gary Lineker on 10, and he was denied a hat-trick when his ferocious volley was palmed away by the diving Bushchan.

England made it four from the resulting corner when Ukraine again failed to deal with a set-piece delivery as Henderson nodded in from six yards to score his first goal for his country on his 62nd cap.

“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.

Maguire was proud of England’s accomplishment but wasn’t satisfied.

“It’s a great feeling — back-to-back semifinals at a major tournament is a great achievement. I don’t want to be a party pooper but we don’t stop here. We’ve got another big game coming up and we want to go further this time,” Maguire said.

“We had good parts of the game, but set pieces did not work very well for us today,” said Ukraine coach Andriy Shevchenko. “I am really happy with how the team performed. I want to thank the players for their attitude today.”

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ARTEM DOVBYK LATE STRIKE HELPS UKRAINE EDGE SWEDEN TO BOOK LAST EIGHT SPOT WITH ENGLAND

Substitute Artem Dovbyk scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner in extra-time as Ukraine booked their Euro 2020 quarter-final place against England with a 2-1 win over Sweden at Hampden Park.

Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko fired in an unstoppable shot in the 27th minute to give Ukraine the lead but two minutes from the interval, Emil Forsberg levelled with a deflected strike from 25 yards – his fourth goal of the competition.

A compelling contest continued after the break with Forsberg twice hitting woodwork but with no more goals, it went to 30 additional minutes where Italian referee Daniel Orsata, with the help of VAR, sent off Sweden’s Marcus Danielson in the 99th minute for a high tackle on Ukraine substitute Artem Besedin.

The 10-men Swedes looked as though they would hold out for penalties but as the match edged into three minutes of added time, Dovbyk headed in a cross from Zinchenko from close range.

Now, after a night of exertion and drama in Glasgow, Ukraine will take on Gareth Southgate’s side, who beat Germany 2-0 earlier in the day, in Rome on Saturday night.

Sweden made the early running but in the 10th minute their goalkeeper Robin Olsen had to produce a fine save from Roman Yaremchuk’s well-struck drive after captain Andriy Yarmolenko had set him up inside the box.

Back came the Swedes and Alexander Isak finished a fine move by curling a drive from inside the box just past the far post.

Ukraine, however, took advantage of the next opportunity they created.

Yarmolenko flicked a pass to Zinchenko from the other side of the box and a powerful left-footed strike from the talented 24-year-old went straight through Olsen.

The stunned Swedes almost responded immediately with captain Sebastian Larsson’s long-range free-kick almost wrong-footing Ukraine keeper Georgiy Bushchan, who parried for a corner which he collected with ease.

However, Bushchan had little chance when Forsberg took a pass from Isak and drove in from 25 yards, the ball taking a nick off Illya Zabarnyi before flashing past the keeper and settling in the net.

Both sides went for it again after the break and Larsson came close with a drive from distance before Ukraine’s Serhiy Sydorchuk and then Forsberg hit the outside of the post with efforts at either end.

Just on the hour mark, Isak failed to connect properly with a long ball over the top and missed the target with only the keeper to beat, albeit he may have been offside.

Bushchan saved from Dejan Kulusevski’s curling shot from 16 yards and at the other end Olsen gathered a shot from Yarmolenko, also from inside the penalty area, before the influential Forsberg crashed a drive from the edge of the box against the bar.

Kulusevski had a chance in the final minute when he raced clear of the Ukraine defence but his shot was brilliantly blocked by back-tracking defender Oleksandr Karavaev.

Then came extra-time and the dismissal of Danielson, after he was initially shown a yellow card, for his challenge on substitute Besedin which required him to be replaced by Viktor Tsygankov.

Dovbyk, on for Yarmolenko at half-time in extra-time, scooped a chance over the bar after 112 minutes – he could have been offside – but he made up for it and then some when he stooped to head in a dramatic winner.

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KANE, STERLING ON TARGET AS ENGLAND ELIMINATE GERMANY FROM EURO 2020

England beat Germany 2-0 at Wembley on Tuesday to reach the Euro 2020 quarterfinals thanks to second-half goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane.

Both sides came into this match with question marks over them after unconvincing group stage performances with England scoring just twice despite topping the group while Germany needed a late goal against Hungary to seal their progress.

It was a game of few chances, though Jordan Pickford made an impressive save to deny Kai Havertz just after the interval, while Germany defender Mats Hummels produced an impressive goal line tackle to deny Kane just before half-time.

After a quiet first half, Luke Shaw grew into the game and provided an assist for both of the England’s opener, while Jack Grealish once again started on the bench, but was introduced on 69 minutes in place in place of Bukayo Saka and also set up a goal.

The breakthrough came on 75 minutes as Shaw played a ball across goal for Sterling to tap home from close range following good work from Grealish.

The Manchester City forward had also scored England’s winners in their 1-0 Group D victories over Croatia and Czech Republic.

Thomas Muller then had a glorious chance to equalise for Germany after Sterling had given the ball away, but somehow put his effort wide when he was clean through.

Shaw and Grealish combined again for the second goal with Aston Villa man providing the assist on this occasion.

Kane, who appeared to pick up an injury midway through the second half but carried on playing, sealed the victory with his first goal of the tournament on 86 minutes as he finished off a Grealish cross with a header from close range.

“We knew we needed a big performance against a difficult side, and we did that today,” Sterling said after the match. “Doing it for your country is always special.

“For half a second I thought let it [Sterling’s goal] not be offside, but I’m so happy it went in. We knew the intensity we could play at, not a lot of teams can deal with it.

“We kept going, [Declan] Rice and [Kalvin] Phillips, ate up ground and were animals in there. All-round, great team performance. We take it game by game, we go away, recover and get focused onto the next one.”

This was only England’s second-ever knockout win at a European Championship and they will face Sweden or Ukraine in the quarterfinals.

A clean sheet ensure England are the only remaining side in the Euros yet to have conceded a goal.

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EURO 2020: ENGLAND TOP GROUP D AS STERLING GOAL SEES OFF CZECH REPUBLIC

England progressed to the European Championship knockout phase as group winners thanks to Raheem Sterling’s early header in a 1-0 victory against the Czech Republic.

Having kicked off Group D by beating World Cup semi-final foes Croatia and then been booed off following the goalless draw with rivals Scotland, Gareth Southgate’s already-qualified side put in a controlled display on Tuesday.

Sterling headed home fan favourite Jack Grealish’s cross to seal a narrow win against the Czechs at Wembley, where England will return next Tuesday for a last-16 tie against France, Germany, Portugal or Hungary.

Facing the runners-up in the so-called group of death looks a tough ask but there is a lot to be said for home comforts – plus facing underdogs at the Euros does not always go well, such as Iceland five years ago.

There remains plenty for Southgate’s men to improve on after Tuesday’s hard-fought victory, but England reacted well to a disrupted build-up that saw Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell forced into isolation.

The fallout to their interaction with Scotland’s Billy Gilmour, who tested positive for Covid-19, will rumble on, but Mount’s replacement Grealish impressed – as did fellow tournament full debutant Bukayo Saka.

The fearless pair were involved in the winning goal under the arch, where Sterling bounced back from hitting a post in the opening stages to head home Grealish’s 12th-minute cross.

There were some nervy moments when the Czechs settled and Harry Kane’s wait for his first Euros goal continues, but England professionally saw out a forgettable second half to wrap up qualification without conceding.

England’s final Group D match started like the previous two as a Manchester City player hit the woodwork.

Sterling was sent scampering behind the Czech backline by a smart Luke Shaw pass, getting to the ball before Tomas Vaclik and leaving the goalkeeper watching helplessly as the shot bounced back off the far post.

John Stones and Kane had efforts during a bright opening that brought about a 12th-minute opener and vindication for those calling for Grealish’s inclusion.

Livewire Saka started the move in his own half that led to him sending over a cross, with the Aston Villa playmaker eventually jinking into space to send a perfect clipped ball to the far post for Sterling to head home.

“It’s coming home” echoed around Wembley, where a firm stop by Vaclik denied Kane having been found superbly by Harry Maguire on his return to action from six weeks out with an ankle complaint.

But just like the other group games, England dropped off midway through the opening period and Jordan Pickford did well to stop Tomas Holes’ impressive 30-yard drive nestling in the top left-hand corner.

The Czechs were making life uncomfortable and impressive West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek went agonisingly close when swinging a strike just wide.

England eventually settled as Grealish and Saka continued to prove exciting outlets, with Shaw seeing a cross deflect into the side-netting and Kane seeing a fizzing strike saved before offside was called.

Jordan Henderson replaced Declan Rice at the break, with the experienced vice-captain helping England stay in control without exerting themselves too much.

Attacks at either end were stopped by smart defending or poor final decisions, with Southgate turning to substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham in a bid to change the dynamics of the second half.
The decision to take off Grealish was met by a smattering of jeers during a period when Maguire saw penalty claims ignored.

Tyrone Mings and Jadon Sancho came on in front of a flat Wembley crowd, with Tomas Pekhart striking just wide from the edge of the box following a hashed Pickford clearance.

Substitute Henderson thought he had scored his first international goal late on, only for the offside flag to deny him towards the end of an underwhelming match that keeps hopes of an exciting summer alive.

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EURO 2020: ENGLAND ADVANCE AS CONFUSION REIGNS OVER BILLY GILMOUR COVID CASE

England have qualified for the Euro 2020 knockout phase without kicking a ball at the end of a chaotic day that saw Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell go into isolation after Scotland’s Billy Gilmour tested positive for coronavirus.

The Scottish Football Association announced on Monday morning that the 20-year-old midfielder had returned a positive Covid-19 result and would miss Tuesday’s crunch Group D encounter with Croatia.

Gilmour helped boost Scotland’s qualification hopes with a man-of-the-match display in Friday’s 0-0 draw at Wembley, where he interacted with Chelsea team-mates Mount and Chilwell.

The England pair are having to isolate on the eve of Tuesday’s game against the Czech Republic as a precaution following consultation with Public Health England, with discussions about the situation ongoing.

The fact Gilmour’s positive results appears to be having a bigger impact on the Three Lions than Scotland has left Gareth Southgate confused, but any stress over qualification was removed by results elsewhere on Monday.

Four of the best third-placed teams at the rearranged Euros progress to the knockout phase, with England’s four-point haul now guaranteed to put them in that bracket whatever happens against the pool-leading Czechs.

Southgate is braced to be without Mount and Chilwell for Tuesday’s match, despite the pair producing negative lateral-flow tests on Monday afternoon following negative results in Sunday’s round of UEFA pre-match PCR tests.

Asked about the duo’s availability for the group decider, the England manager said: “Well, we don’t know at the moment.

“There’s obviously got to be quite a doubt, but there’s still a lot of discussions and investigations going on behind the scenes, so at the moment they’re isolating and we just have to find out over the last 12 hours or so.”

A PHE spokesperson said it was “working with the FA to identify close contacts of Billy Gilmour and any risk to other players and staff”, and indicated any decision to tell players from the England team to isolate was made by the Football Association.

Southgate, who had been due to have Mount alongside him at the pre-match press conference on Monday evening, said: “We had worked with the players this morning on the training pitch so then of course we find out when we finish that this is the situation.

“I can’t say it isn’t disruptive. We don’t really know at this point whether they might be OK for (Tuesday) or they could be out for 10 days so there are a lot of unknowns frankly at this moment in time.”

Among the many things Southgate is trying to get his head around is how England are having to prepare without two players whereas Scotland have avoided further absences despite Gilmour’s positive test being in their camp.

Steve Clarke’s men have been under the PHE umbrella, having stayed in Darlington and used Middlesbrough’s training ground – the same facilities used by England during their pre-Euros training base.

“I don’t want to cause a drama for Scotland but if you’re all in the dressing room together, where does everything stand? I don’t know is the honest answer to that,” he said.

“Our medical people are dealing with all of this. I’ve been updated as regularly as I can be which is every hour or so when there’s a little bit more information and we have to accept whatever the situation is and adapt to it.

“That’s the world we’re all living in, across every family and every sport and every business.”

Ex-England striker Gary Lineker shared similar confusion about the differing impact on the sides following news that Mount and Chilwell were isolating.

“This is odd,” he wrote on Twitter. “They may have had close contact with Billy Gilmour, but If they continue to test negative surely they can play.

“Otherwise surely every single Scottish player, who all hugged Gilmour after the game, won’t be allowed to play either. Makes no sense.”

But Southgate – who expressed sympathy for Scotland counterpart Clarke following Gilmour’s positive test – is not letting his attention waver, saying in tournaments “you have to adapt, you have to respond”.

Asked why it just Mount and Chilwell, who were pictured embracing Gilmour on Friday, having to isolate, the England boss said: “I don’t know all of the factors behind that.

“Clearly it’s nothing to do with being on the pitch so that’s why there is no issue with teams training, for example.

“Going to when the Premier League restarted training and matches were shown to be a situation where there weren’t contacts for long enough for that to be a risk, so we’re just waiting to hear more information at this moment in time.”

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EURO 2020: ENGLAND’S MASON MOUNT, BEN CHILWELL ISOLATING AFTER BILLY GILMOUR CONTACT

England suffered a Euro 2020 blow on Monday as Chelsea duo Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell were forced to self-isolate following contact with Scotland’s Billy Gilmour, who has tested positive for Covid-19. England’s 26-man squad all returned negative results after the news of Gilmour’s positive test broke earlier on Monday.

But Mount and Chilwell are likely to miss England’s Group D clash with the Czech Republic at Wembley on Tuesday as a result of their contact with Gilmour. Chelsea team-mates Mount and Gilmour were on opposing sides in England’s 0-0 draw against Scotland on Friday, while their club colleague Chilwell was an unused substitute.

Mount and Chilwell were photographed standing next to Gilmour after the game.

The English Football Association are in discussions with health authorities over whether the pair can face the Czechs, as well as their availability for the last 16.

Gilmour has been ruled out of Scotland’s must-win match against Croatia in Glasgow on Tuesday.

“As a precaution at this time and in consultation with Public Health England (PHE), Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount are isolating after interaction with Scotland player Billy Gilmour at Friday’s match,” an FA statement said.

“The pair will be kept away from the rest of the England players and wider support team, pending further discussions with PHE.

“The entire squad had lateral flow tests on Monday afternoon and all were again negative, as was the case with Sunday’s UEFA pre-match PCR tests.

“We will continue to follow all Covid-19 protocols and the UEFA testing regime, while remaining in close contact with PHE.”

Mount had been due to appear at the pre-match press conference alongside England boss Gareth Southgate, but the midfielder was withdrawn from his media duties.

Asked if the pair will be available for the Czech game, Southgate told reporters: “We don’t know at the moment.

“There’s obviously got to be quite a doubt but there’s still a lot of discussions and investigations going on behind the scenes.

“So at the moment they’re isolating and we just have to find out over the last 12 hours or so.”

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EURO 2020: STERLING ON TARGET AS ENGLAND BEAT CROATIA IN GROUP C

Raheem Sterling’s first major tournament goal got England’s Euro 2020 campaign off to a winning start as Gareth Southgate’s side overcame World Cup semi-final foes Croatia.

Three years on from their heartbreaking extra-time loss at the Luzhniki, England exacted some sort of revenge by triumphing in the Group D opener at a pulsating, partially filled Wembley.

Sterling’s goal secured a 1-0 win against Croatia on a sweltering Sunday afternoon.

A smattering of jeers when players took the knee before kick-off made way for a start as lively as the socially distanced crowd at the first major men’s international tournament match on home soil since Euro 96.

England shone during the opening 20 minutes, only for Croatia to settle and take the sting out of a sharp attack that continued to underwhelm early in second half.

England had never previously won their opening game at a European Championship and, just as fans began to worry that run might continue, a moment of incision cut the visitors’ backline open.

The impressive Kalvin Phillips cut inside and smartly put through Sterling to smash home his first tournament goal.

It proved the winner at the end of a week to remember for the 26-year-old, who was made an MBE for his work for services to racial equality in sport in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Sterling continued that fight by taking the knee before kick-off alongside his team-mates, with some ignoring pleas to respect players by booing the gesture before applause and cheers drowned the minority out.

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RAHEEM STERLING, JORDAN HENDERSON SET TO RECEIVE MBE AWARDS

England footballers Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson will receive the MBE as part of Queen Elizabeth’s birthday honours list announced on Friday.

Manchester City forward Sterling, 26, is being recognised for his campaigning against racism and setting up a foundation for deprived children.

“I am grateful to have been recognised but my priority is to try to help to educate society and myself,” Sterling said. “If it doesn’t start from within, then there’s no way you can help others.

“I’m learning every day. My motivation for racial equality is to get people to understand the difficulties people from diverse backgrounds face and create an environment where everybody is equal.”

Liverpool captain Henderson will receive the honour after spearheading the ‘Players Together’ fund for Premier League players to raise money for the National Health Service at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

“I accept this in the knowledge I was part of something special, rather than the reason for it,” the 30-year-old midfielder said.

“The other Premier League captains were the catalyst and the rest of the players, including my own team mates at Liverpool, were a driving force behind the scenes.”

Henderson and Sterling are currently part of the England squad, who open their European Championship campaign against Croatia at Wembley on Sunday.