Raheem Sterling watched with his head in his hands. Six minutes after his opening goal, and with just nine minutes of the tie remaining, his loose pass had allowed Kai Havertz to send Thomas Muller sprinting through on goal. The equaliser felt like a crushing inevitability.
And that is exactly what they have done. England still have a long way to go in this tournament but they have defeated Germany in a competitive game at Wembley for the first time since 1966 and their route onwards to the final is an easily navigable one.
Their progress, and this seismic victory, owe a lot to a player who grew up in the shadow of the stadium in which it has all unfolded.
It was Sterling, born and raised in the London borough of Brent, who broke the deadlock at Wembley on Tuesday, side footing home from Luke Shaw’s cross, and
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