England’s victory over Ukraine was devoid of the usual drama – instead the only emotion was pure joy

It is all too rare that an England game goes quite as well as the quarter-final against Ukraine on Saturday night did.

The Three Lions are into the semi-finals of Euro 2020 after a thumping 4-0 win in Rome that was completely devoid of any of the usual drama or difficulty.

The only emotions involved were pure joy as Gareth Southgate’s side started on the front foot and never let up in the most comfortable of knockout wins.

It hasn’t always been this way, of course – any fan of the last half century of English football can tell you that.

This was no Iceland in Nice or Germany in Bloemfontein. There were no Paul Gascoigne tears or David Beckham anguish. This was just as good as it gets.

Captain Harry Kane, who a matter of days ago was out of shape and out of form, is back amongst the goals. The team is scoring from set-pieces again, as they did so famously in Russia three years ago. And even Jordan Henderson is finding the net, doing so for the first time at his 62nd attempt.

There are no suspensions for the semi-final with Denmark on Wednesday either, with all four players who were walking a disciplinary tightrope in the last eight making it through unscathed.

For journalists too, it was about as easy as an England knockout game has ever been. With a goal after just three minutes and then two more early in the second-half, nerves were settled on the pitch but also off it in the press box in the Italian capital and on sports desks back home.

Post-match pieces could be prepared with unusual time and space while ideas and themes were allowed to be fully formed without the usual last-gasp changes.

It was a thoroughly pleasant experience from first to last. It is not often over the last 55 years an English football journalist has been able to say that.

Yours,

Ben Burrows

Sports editor