English striker Raheem Sterling, a hero of his team when he scored the first goal of the “Three Lions” against Germany (2-0), considered the intensity of England's game on Tuesday as one of the keys to his triumph.
“We know the intensity with which we can play and there are not many teams that can match it,” said Sterling, who has scored three of his team's four goals in the tournament.
For the Manchester City forward, England knew they would need a great performance against Germany and were able to pull it off.
Despite being criticized by the press and fans before the championship, Sterling declared himself proud to defend his country, something that “will always be special”.
Sterling was particularly appreciative of the quiet but effective work of his team's two midfielders, Declan Rice and Kalvin Philips, who “ate the grass and it was two animals in there.”
And he acknowledged that, after scoring his decisive goal, for half a second he thought: “please, that it was not offside …”.