Raheem Sterling became the first player after Gary Lineker to score each of England’s first three goals of a major tournament.
The Manchester City star scored each of his country’s first three goals at the tournament before Harry Kane broke that streak with a late header.
Sterling scored the opener in the 75th minute against Germany on Tuesday, with Harry Kane adding a late strike to send the Three Lions into the Euro 2020 last eight with a 2-0 win at Wembley.
The Manchester City man scored the game’s only goal in two 1-0 wins in the group stage, helping England reach the last 16 as group winners.
“We knew we needed to put a big performance in against a very good German side and I thought we’ve done that today,” Sterling told the BBC. “Scoring for your country is always special and it’s definitely a special moment for me.
“I celebrated and for half a second I thought, ‘Don’t let it be offside!’ I’m really happy it went in and I’m really happy we got the win.”
Sterling scored England’s first Euro 2020 goal in their opener against Croatia, before the Three Lions drew 0-0 with Scotland.
The 26-year-old then netted England’s only goal in their Group D finale against the Czech Republic in another 1-0 win, before his opener against Germany on Tuesday.
Kane’s late goal was the first scored by any other England player in the tournament, securing a place in the last eight.
After scoring just twice in his first 45 England matches, Sterling now has 15 goals in his last 20 games for the Three Lions.
After defeating Joachim Low’s side, England will now await the winner of Sweden’s last-16 tie against Ukraine in the last eight. The winner of that match will be paired with the winner between Denmark and Czech Republic in the semi-final.
