Gareth Southgate's side battled hard to
earn the statement victory that has so often eluded England, and it was their
talisman of this tournament, Raheem Sterling, who made the decisive
breakthrough.
Sterling, who scored the winners against
Croatia and the Czech Republic in the group stage, steered in Luke Shaw's cross
after 75 minutes to send England's fans, with more than 40,000 inside Wembley,
into wild celebrations.
The win was secured with another moment of
significance four minutes from time when captain Harry Kane, who had once again
struggled to influence the game, headed in from substitute Jack Grealish's
perfect delivery for his first goal of Euro 2020.
England were again thankful for the
brilliance of Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who has yet to concede a goal
in the tournament and saved crucially from Timo Werner and Kai Havertz in each
half, while Thomas Muller missed a glorious chance to equalise before Kane
struck.
England now face either Sweden or Ukraine
in the quarter-finals in Rome on Saturday.