Raheem Sterling triples in England during the demolition of the Czech Republic | Soccer

If the ultimate goal is that Gareth Southgate and his players see if their Euro 2020 adventure can end in this stage – July 12, 2020, to be specific – it will certainly be a decent way to start this process. Five goals, a blank sheet and, perhaps most encouraging, irrefutable proof that Raheem Sterling is transferring his Manchester City record to the international stage.

OK, it is still too early to begin to imagine the possibilities that could arise in a tournament in which the semi-finals and the final will be contested at the stadium called home in England. However, it is the kind of performance that allows England's fans to think positively, especially when the team is suddenly filled with such a variety of attacks.

Sterling's hat trick means he has already scored five times for England in his last three games. Previously, he had scored no goals in his 27 previous matches and, while this may seem like an imaginative game, there was even a debate during the World Cup on the issue to know if he should keep his place. His latest performance is a further reminder of why Southgate believes he is opposed to Sterling or Virgil van Dijk to win individual trophies as an outstanding player in the Premier League this season.

Not that Sterling is the only player with the colors of England to excel.

England finished the night with Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi, making his debut as a second-half substitute, threatening their opponents by the wings. Harry Kane had a great night, including a penalty for the second goal. Declan Rice also made his debut in the second half and when the Mexican wave started, it was not one of those occasions when it seemed like the crowd was trying to entertain themselves as it pleased. A spectacular personal goal added to the pleasure and this evidence, England will want more of the same in Montenegro on Monday.

For that, Southgate may feel emboldened enough to integrate Rice and Hudson-Odoi from the beginning. Rice should definitely feel better for this experience – and not just because of her time on the field. As Southgate had predicted, the crowd made it clear that Rice's now-famous Instagram Instagram post, published at the age of 16, would not be used against him. It all seemed very mature and, for Rice, a relief too.

The only drawback of Southgate was the injury of Eric Dier, victim of a bad challenge early in the quarter-hour. Dier had to leave and, strange thing, Southgate decided to appeal to a more aggressive player, namely Ross Barkley, and to change the formation that led to a dramatic improvement. What started as a 4-2-3-1 system has turned into a more adventurous formation with Jordan Henderson as the only defensive midfielder and Barkley and Dele Alli operating just behind the front three, right left, Sancho, Kane and Sterling.

After that, England invaded their opponents, playing with the confidence now expected Southgate teams and perhaps best illustrated by the goal she had created just after the midpoint of the first half. All members of their offensive trio were involved and, in the process, Kane's contribution exquisitely recalled that nothing was as good in football as the perfect deep pbad. The killer pbadword is usually that of the goal. In this case, there had already been one previously, aiming inside the left back, Filip Novak, and weighing to such perfection that he was opening all the defense. Sancho's delivery on the six-yard surface was relatively straightforward in comparison. Sterling had sprinted to make himself available at the back post, as he often does, and had managed to put his boot tightly up to the ball.

The most notable statistic was that the goal was the culmination of a 25-pbad move in which 10 different players were involved. England's confidence flowed. At one point, Sancho could be seen slipping the ball between Novak's legs. Just to prove that the nutmeg was not a coincidence, Sancho immediately repeated the same thing – this time with a little hindsight – to make his next opponent as ridiculous. The crowd loved it and it was not surprising that the supremacy of England allowed them to double the lead with the last kick of the first period.

Sterling races in the penalty area were on the go all night long. Alli's heel trusted his colleague to get there first, and while Sterling was trying to break through a group of defenders, he found himself trapped between Pavel Kaderabek and Tomas Kalas. Jiri Pavlenka, diving to his right, managed to put his finger on Kane's penalty, but the ball had been hit hard enough to overtake the Czech goalkeeper.

To be wicked, Sterling's goals in the second half were particularly happy, especially for his hat trick when he tried his luck with a 25-meter curler and the ball deflected by Ondrej Celustka changed the game. trajectory of the shot and the right foot of the goalkeeper.

There was also a lucky ricochet in the formation of Sterling's central goal, but when the ball came to his feet, he was very adept to swing away from his marker, tugging his left foot to the goal as far as possible. corner.

Hudson-Odoi replaced Sterling for the final exchanges and became perfectly integrated, playing as if he was immune to the nerves. This culminated in a tragicomedy of a personal goal of Kalas, who got entangled and inadvertently turned into the rebound after Pavlenka saved a shot from the Chelsea player. England had five and Sterling left the stage with the balloon as a souvenir.