fb-pixelEngland, Denmark march into European soccer semifinals - The Boston Globe Skip to main content
sports log

England, Denmark march into European soccer semifinals

Harry Kane (left) heads the ball for his second goal of the game in England's win over Ukraine in Rome.ETTORE FERRARI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Harry Kane scored twice and England overwhelmed Ukraine, 4-0, in Rome on Saturday to reach the European Championship soccer semifinals. It was the only match of Euro 2020 that England had to play away from London’s Wembley Stadium and the team’s most dominant performance of the tournament. Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson also scored as England kept a clean sheet for the fifth straight match. England now goes back to London to face Denmark on Wednesday. Italy will face Spain in the other semifinal match on Tuesday, with the final next weekend also to be played at Wembley. Kane scored in the fourth minute, using one touch to redirect a through ball from Raheem Sterling for his second goal in as many matches. England also scored early in the second half after Kane was fouled about 10 seconds in. A free kick from Luke Shaw set up a header from Maguire. Four minutes later, Kane got his second by heading in another cross from Shaw. Henderson’s goal — his first for England after a decade with the national team — also came on a header in the 63rd minute … Denmark advanced to the semifinals by beating the Czech Republic, 2-1, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Jens Stryger sent a corner in the fifth minute to Thomas Delaney, standing in space by the penalty spot. Delaney’s bouncing header got past the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík. Denmark doubled the lead in the 42nd minute. Joakim Maehle’s cross eluded Martin Braithwaite’s attempt at a header but Kasper Dolberg got past his marker and beat Vaclík. Czech Republic forward Patrik Schick scored his fifth goal in the 49th minute, putting him even with Cristiano Ronaldo as the tournament’s leading scorers . . . Kevin Paredes scored his first professional goal, Griffin Yow and Ola Kamara each had a goal and an assist, and D.C. United routed visiting Toronto, 7-1, the 10th time in MLS history a team had scored seven or more goals . . . American forward Sebastian Soto was loaned to Porto for the 2021-22 season by Norwich City of England’s Premier League. The 20-year-old from Carlsbad, Calif., who will be part of Porto B in the Portuguese second tier, scored twice in his US national team debut, an exhibition against Panama in November.

BASKETBALL

Fever down Sun to snap long skid

Danielle Robinson tied her career high with 19 points, Teaira McCowan had 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and the Indiana Fever beat the visiting Connecticut Sun, 73-67, to snap a franchise single-season record 12-game losing streak. Kelsey Mitchell added 14 points for Indiana (2-16). Jonquel Jones led Connecticut (12-6) with 16 points and nine rebounds but was just 5-of-17 shooting. The Sun, who were playing their fourth game in seven days, saw their four-game win streak end. DeWanna Bonner finished with 14 points and Brionna Jones scored 13 with eight rebounds. With the Sun trailing by 4, Jones was called for traveling in the lane with 92 seconds left and Danielle Robinson made a driving layup on the other end. Natisha Heideman (12 points) sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a runner off the glass by Robinson to trim Connecticut’s deficit to 69-67 with 47.8 seconds to go.

Advertisement



Doncic powers Lithuania in Olympic qualifying

Mike Tobey scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Luka Doncic had 23 points, 13 assists, and 9 rebounds, and Slovenia eased past Venezuela, 98-70, in the semifinals of an Olympic qualifying tournament in Kaunas, Lithuania. Slovenia (3-0) will play host Lithuania (3-0) on Sunday with a berth in Tokyo on the line. Domantas Sabonis scored 17 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 15, and Lithuania beat Poland, 88-69, to earn a spot in the final. All four sites of qualifying tournaments — Lithuania, Canada, Serbia, and Croatia — will hold championship games Sunday to determine the last four teams in the Olympic men’s basketball field … Tomas Satoransky’s fading-away, off-the-glass jumper with 1.8 seconds left in overtime gave the Czech Republic a 103-101 win over Canada in Victoria, British Columbia. Canada trailed by 6 with less than 20 seconds left in regulation before Andrew Wiggins scored 6 points in a span of 7.5 seconds to tie the game, and then the Czechs rallied from a 5-point deficit in the final 2:18 of overtime. Blake Schilb scored 31 points for the Czechs (2-1), who will play Greece (2-1), 81-63 winners over Turkey behind Nick Calathes’s 18 points … Vasilije Micic scored 21 points, Nemanja Bjelica added 18 and host Serbia (3-0) beat Puerto Rico, 102-84, to move into Sunday’s final at Belgrade against Italy (2-0), which beat the Dominican Republic, 79-59, behind Simone Fontecchio’s 17 points … Maodo Lo scored 29 points and added eight assists for Germany (3-0), which beat host Croatia, 86-76, in Split, and will play Brazil (3-0), a 102-74 victor over Mexico (1-2) behind Vítor Benite’s 22 points.

Advertisement



CYCLING

Pogacar takes Tour de France lead

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar claimed the overall leader’s yellow jersey after finishing fourth, 49 seconds behind stage winner Dylan Teuns of Belgium, in the eighth stage of the Tour de France. The Slovenian cyclist started the day 3 minutes, 43 seconds off the lead of Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, who finished more than 20 minutes off the pace, relinquishing the lead he had held for six days when he faded fast midway through the 93.7-mile stage from Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand, France. Belgian Wout van Aert remained in second but fell from 30 seconds behind at the start of the stage to 1 minute, 48 seconds behind Pogacar … World champion Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands rode away from the rest of the field in the Giro d’Italia Donne, winning the first summit finish of the marquee women’s stage race to take the overall lead in Prato, Italy. Van der Breggen finished 1 minute, 22 seconds ahead of teammate Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio. That put van der Breggen 1:26 ahead of Moolman-Pasio and 1:57 ahead of another teammate, Demi Vollering, after two of 10 stages.

Advertisement



AUTO RACING

Busch wins another Xfinity race

After spinning off course twice, Kyle Busch rallied in the final stage to win the Henry 180 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. That gives him four victories in four NASCAR Xfinity Series races this season. Busch edged Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel Hemric by 3.522 seconds, with Michael Annett third, AJ Allmendinger fourth, and Harrison Burton fifth. Busch will race Sunday in the first Cup Series event at Road America since 1956, though he will start in the back of the pack with a backup car after crashing his Toyota in practice Saturday . . . Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen clinched his third straight pole position for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, while Lewis Hamilton was fourth on the day Mercedes announced his two-year contract extension. Hamilton, the seven-time defending F1 champion, was even upstaged by 21-year-old countryman Lando Norris, who qualified second ahead of Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, placing just .05 seconds behind Verstappen.

Advertisement



MISCELLANY

Lightning can’t have families in Montreal

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to The Associated Press that the Canadian government has not granted an exemption for family members of Lightning players and staff to travel to Montreal for a potential Stanley Cup celebration on Monday. That means Tampa Bay could win a second championship in 11 months without family there to enjoy it after winning last year’s title in the Edmonton bubble. Francesca Vangel, wife of Tampa Bay’s Patrick Maroon, tweeted her frustration about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying, “How about you let the families of the players cross the boarder (both teams) and enjoy it this year. Just a thought.” … Yairo Munoz hit an RBI single and later stole home as part of a four-run third inning as the Worcester Red Sox (31-21) beat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (34-15), 4-3, at Polar Park. Kyle Hart (4-4) allowed one earned run on five hits over five innings, walking five and striking out four for the win … Jordan Groshans hit an RBI single and Chavez Young added a two-run double as the host New Hampshire Fisher Cats (23-27) took a rain-shortened 3-0 win over the Portland Sea Dogs (27-23) in six innings.

Advertisement