England vs Germany Euro 2020 reaction: 5 big talking points from the Three Lions' 2-0 triumph

England secured a famous victory over Germany at Wembley, as goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane put them into the quarter finals of Euro 2020.

Here are FourFourTwo's five big talking points from the match.

Sterling's fairytale Euros

Raheem Sterling didn't appear to be a certain starter for the first game of this tournament, after a difficult couple of months at Manchester City.

There were calls for others to start instead, but Gareth Southgate backed him, and Sterling has been England's key man at the Euros so far. After all, the Three Lions' first three goals at this tournament were all bagged by Sterling.

His goal in the opening game against Croatia did wonders for his confidence, and he was England's biggest threat by a long way against Germany, running at the opposition and causing them untold problems.

He got his reward by getting into the six-yard box to convert Luke Shaw's low cross and put England in front. For the boy who went to school just a quarter of a mile from this stadium, Euro 2020 has been an absolute fairytale for Raheem Sterling so far.

It's reward too for Southgate's faith in him - Sterling repaid the manager by delivering victory over Germany, 25 years after Southgate's famous penalty miss against the same opposition. This was redemption.

Kane delivers

Harry Kane has been much criticised for his quiet performances during this tournament, and for a period it looked like it would be same again in this game.

He touched the ball only twice in the first half hour of the match, and looked like he might be about to go off when he went down injured early in the second half.

Marcus Rashford was called to replace him, only for it be decided that Kane could carry on affter all. How crucial could that moment prove to be?

After Sterling's opener, Kane finally got off the mark at Euro 2020 with a typical striker's goal to seal victory. If he can hit the goal trail now, England really are in business.

Strength in depth pays dividends

England's bench for this game looked freakishly strong - Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were all waiting in the wings, hoping to play their part in attacking areas, while the experienced Jordan Henderson was also a substitute.

Germany didn't have quite those same options on their own bench, and England's first sub in this game added extra impetus to the attack, just when their opponents were tiring.

There was a huge roar from the crowd when Jack Grealish came on with a little more than 20 minutes to go. Darting on to the Wembley pitch to that reception, he must have felt 10 feet tall - and he played a role in both goals, laying on the cross for Harry Kane to convert the second.

England's options could well continue to be very useful indeed.

Pickford superb again

Say what you like about Jordan Pickford, but at major tournaments with England, he's been brilliant so far.

Pickford might have a mistake in him at club level, but there's been no sign of that at the World Cup or at Euro 2020 at this stage, and every England fan hopes it stays that way.

The acrobatic save that Pickford made from Kai Havertz at 0-0 in this match was sensational, and was a huge moment in the game. He also made a key stop from Timo Werner in the first half, staying big when the striker homed in one goal. He's still yet to concede a goal in this tournament - a fine achievement.

The atmosphere was immense

The capacity for this match was around 43,000 - up from 22,500 for England's group stage games, and unsurprisingly it improved the atmosphere by incredible amounts.

Things were a little quiet at times during the match against the Czech Republic, with the stadium only a quarter full, but it was a carnival atmosphere outside the stadium before kick-off this time.

Inside the stadium, if Scotland fans made almost as much noise as the home supporters 11 days ago, this was very different, for one of the biggest games ever staged at the new Wembley.

With only 2,000 German fans here, many of them UK based, England very obviously had a huge home advantage and that helped to keep the Three Lions' intensity high during the match.

It was an intensity that was England's biggest strength on the day and culminated in the two goals, each prompting scenes of absolute delirium right around the stadium - scenes this writer will never forget.

You would never have known that Wembley was still only at half capacity. What will it be like if England get to the semi finals, with 60,000 in?

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