Sterling's reaction to Muller mishap is priceless
Tuesday night's monumental game had the country, nay the world, on the edge of their seats. The first half was relatively dead, with Harry Kane barely moving, before Raheem Sterling's goal in the 75th minute sent the country into rapturous celebration.
The goal made English fans believe, before a misplaced pass came close to changing the complexion entirely, with Sterling's mistake handing the ball to Kai Havertz, who played teammate Thomas Müller through on goal.
As a nation waited (and sweated profusely), it appeared like that familiar story - 22 people play and at the end of the day Germany win - would prove true once again.
https://twitter.com/SeanMcPolin1/status/1410356962437574658
Footage not shown during the immediate live broadcast has now come to light, and shows the reaction of Sterling as he watches Müller go through on goal. His hands are on his head as he looks on, stood still, paralysed with fear. At the last minute, Müller shoots. Sterling freezes, and Müller misses.
Sterling reacts by collapsing to the ground. In that instant, the country and the England squad exhaled together.
His passion at this moment is undeniable; you can visibly see how destroyed he was, and how close he knows England came to handing the advantage to Germany. The togetherness of the squad is then made evident in the video, as Kieran Trippier picks up his friend and pats him on the back before telling him to get his head in the game.
What followed is now history: Luke Shaw supplied Jack Grealish with the ball, before the Villa star played Harry Kane for his first goal of the tournament to consign Germany to defeat.
https://twitter.com/SholaMos1/status/1410138031495991297
England's next game is on Saturday, where they will face Ukraine in the quarter-finals.
