England show courage and control in Euro 2020 opener of quiet promise

There was plenty to be pleased about as Gareth Southgate looked back on a job well done.

He had just watched his England side win their opening game of a European Championship for the first time ever with a hard-fought but well-earned victory over Croatia at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.

It also marked a measure of revenge, the Croats having knocked the Three Lions out in their last meaningful tournament game, the fateful World Cup semi-final three years ago.

It was a performance of maturity as the team weathered the peaks and troughs and ebbs and flows of tournament football before making their one out and out chance count with Raheem Sterling sliding home in the second-half.

The display hints at better to come as they look to go one or two better than they did in Russia with Southgate particularly pleased with the control his side showed in what was a hugely pressurised game.

"They're very pleased with the performance as much as anything," the England boss said. "You come into a major tournament, you want to give a good account of yourselves and of course we know that the first objective is qualifying from the group.

"So today you want the win but to not lose is also important in those occasions, but I was really impressed with how they settled quickly into the game with and without the ball. Our pressing was good throughout the team and we used the ball with intelligence and with some quality.

"I felt we probably deserved to be ahead before we got the goal, but then we also managed the game well. We didn't really invite too much pressure. There's always going to be moments like the long throw at the end but I thought we were pretty controlled throughout."

It wasn't so rosy in some corners of the internet before the game with armchair coaches all over questioning a number of Southgate's selection choices.

Kieran Trippier's inclusion at left-back was the headline-grabber while Sterling - who soon proved everyone wrong - was also a divisive call after an up and down season with Manchester City.

Kalvin Phillips was another to draw the ire of critics but emphatically shut them up with an all-action display of real quality.

Outstanding in and out of possession alongside Declan Rice in the heart of midfield, he also provided the key pass for Sterling's goal.

"We watched him a lot the season before last in the Championship," Southgate said afterwards. "We were going to bring him into the squad ahead of the Euros a year ago.

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"He's now had a year of Premier League football. He's technically good and we also knew that the athleticism in midfield today would be so important.

"We had to get tight to their three midfield players and Mason (Mount), Kalvin and Declan (Rice) did that really well along with the wide players helping out and Harry taking up the right positions.

"They did a lot of the job for the defence to limit the opportunities and Kalvin is a fabulous boy to work with, so unassuming.

"I thought his performance was outstanding. Two passes in the first half in behind the defence were top level and the contribution for the goal summed his day up, really."

The only slight negative, if there was one, was the relative ineffectiveness of Harry Kane with the Tottenham striker failing to register a single shot on goal as others around him instead rose to the fore.

Southgate though isn't concerned and instead pointed to his skipper’s all-round play and his positive impact on the team as a whole.

"I think he led the line really well," he added. "It was a game where he had to take a lot of physical buffeting. A lot of the game for him today was to link and to create spaces. He did for the goal for others to go and play.

"Of course there are days when the chances will fall to him and he'll be the one able to get his shots away. Today he was really tightly marked by their team and crowded out. They know what a threat he is, not only high up the pitch but dropping between the lines.

"I haven't actually seen the chance at the far post yet to see how good a chance that was, but he brings so much more to our team than just the goals."