Gareth Southgate hailed Raheem Sterling after the Manchester City forward slayed personal and collective demons in England's 1-0 Euro 2020 win over Croatia.
Sterling latched on to Kalvin Phillips' 57th-minute pass to score the only goal in the Group D opener.
Much of the pre-match speculation had centred around whether Sterling would – or, indeed, should – retain his place in Southgate's forward line, having endured a disappointing end to the season at club level.
He was also without a goal in 12 previous major tournament appearances for the Three Lions, but Sterling also had 12 in 16 appearances since the 2018 World Cup and picked the perfect time to continue that prolific run.
"I'm so pleased for Raheem. He's had this hex in the tournaments not being able to get the goal," Southgate told BBC Sport, after England won their opening game of a European Championship campaign at the 10th time of asking.
"I thought he was dangerous all day.
"He's a good player and his goalscoring records suggests that we should have faith with him, especially over the last few years. I think he was motivated to show that."
Phillips' assist crowned a superb showing from the Leeds United man, who more than justified his selection alongside Declan Rice and Mason Mount – England's midfield three ensuring Luka Modric and Croatia's masterful ballplayers were unable exert their influence upon the contest for any sustained period.
"Kalvin is a player who is so understated and has had a fantastic start to his international career," Southgate said.
"I thought he was immense throughout the game, I though they all were.
"Croatia, I think the key is to get pressure on their midfield players and we managed to do that. That limited the supply and the players at the back dealt with the long balls and read the game well.
"I think it was a day where everyone who go onto the pitch did well. We're going to need that for the next four weeks."
Alcaraz sets up Sinner showdown in French Open semi-finals after dismantling Tsitsipas
Carlos Alcaraz continued his perfect start to the French Open, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to reach the semi-finals on Tuesday.
It is the second year running that Alcaraz has brushed aside Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals, this time with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory in just two hours and 15 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The Spaniard set the tone early on with a break in the opening game as he comfortably cruised through the first set and was 3-0 up in the second before Tsitsipas started to mount a comeback.
The momentum stayed with Alcaraz as he stretched his lead following the tie-break though, and held his nerve to see out the third set.
The world number three has reached the semi-finals for the second consecutive year, and has booked a meeting with the new world number one, Jannik Sinner.
Data Debrief: Alcaraz keeps chasing records
Alcaraz has become the youngest player since Andy Roddick in 2003 (v Xavier Malisse) to defeat a player in all his first six meetings in ATP events.
Not only that, but among players who started their career in the Open Era, only Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe (59 each) have registered 50 Men's Singles Grand Slam wins in fewer matches than Alcaraz (60).
Parrott downs Hungary with last-gasp winner for Ireland as Euro 2024 preparations ramp up
Troy Parrott proved the last-gasp hero as Ireland stole a 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary, who suffered a blow less than two weeks before their Euro 2024 campaign starts.
Adam Idah opened the scoring in the first half at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, only for Adam Lang to level for the visitors four minutes later.
Yet Marco Rossi's team, who face Switzerland in their Euros opener on June 15, fell to late defeat as Parrott delivered a 92nd-minute winner for the home side.
That late strike ended Hungary’s 14-match unbeaten run (W9 D5) since losing 2-0 to Italy in a Nations League match back in September 2022.
Rossi may not be too concerned as that run was their longest undefeated streak since an 18-match streak between September 1954 and November 1955.
Hungary will also take comfort from the dominance of Dominik Szoboszlai, who created six chances in this match, the most of any player on the pitch and the same amount as all of his team-mates combined.
Switzerland, who join Hungary, Scotland and hosts Germany at the upcoming European Championship, were victorious on Tuesday after a 4-0 success against lowly Estonia.
Steven Zuber, Xherdan Shaqiri, Zeki Amdouni and Nico Elvedi were all on target at Swissporarena in Lucerne as Murat Yakin's men eased to a convincing warm-up win.
Switzerland continue their preparations for the Euros with their next friendly against Austria, who battled to a 2-1 victory over Serbia in Vienna.
Christoph Baumgartner scored one and assisted another for Patrick Wimmer before Strahinja Pavlovic pulled one back for Dragan Stojkovic's side.
Serbia open their Euro 2024 campaign against England on June 16 before meeting Slovenia, who were triumphant earlier in a day littered by international action.
Armenia's Varazdat Haroyan levelled after Jan Mlakar's early opener for Slovenia before veteran Josip Ilicic snatched a 2-1 victory for England's group opponents.
In the least entertaining game of the midweek action, Romania and Bulgaria shared a goalless draw in Bucharest.
Portugal 4-2 Finland: Fernandes double eases hosts to Euro 2024 warm-up triumph
Portugal ramped up their Euro 2024 preparations as Bruno Fernandes was twice on target to stave off a late Finland fightback in Tuesday's 4-2 friendly victory.
Roberto Martinez's side were on course for a routine win in their first of three warm-up matches as captain Ruben Dias and Diogo Jota – the latter from the penalty spot – scored in the first half on Tuesday.
Fernandes furthered the hosts' lead after the break at Jose Alvalade Stadium, only for Finland to threaten a comeback just two weeks before Portugal's Euros opener against Czech Republic.
Former Norwich City forward Teemu Pukki twice fired past Jose Sa late on, though his efforts were not enough to salvage an unlikely draw after Fernandes made sure of victory six minutes from time.
Data Debrief: Dominant Portugal avoid late scare
Although Pukki's two strikes within five minutes offered Portugal a little to think about, Martinez's hosts were good value for their win – accumulating 3.05 expected goals to Finland's 0.96
Alongside Fernandes' heroics, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha was the star of the show in midfield, creating a game-leading five chances, three more than the entire Finland team managed all game.
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