Raheem Sterling felt it was important to "block the outside world off" ahead of his match-winning turn in England's 1-0 Euro 2020 victory over Croatia.

Manchester City forward Sterling was played in for the only goal following some fabulous play by Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips after 57 minutes at Wembley.

The 26-year-old's club future has been the subject of mounting speculation after losing his place as an automatic starter for Pep Guardiola, while there has been little progress in talks over extending his contract at the Etihad Stadium that expires in 2023.

A solitary goal for City since the end of February, allayed with the enviable options Gareth Southgate has in attack for England, led to calls for Sterling to be ditched in favour of Jack Grealish ahead of the Group D opener.

Additionally, Sterling had failed to score in 12 previous outings at major tournaments for his country, but now has 13 in his past 17 appearances for the Three Lions.

"To be honest with you, I think playing football and being in major tournaments for a long time now, one of the things you learn is knowing when to block noise out," he told a post-match news conference after being named UEFA's Star of the Match.

"That's what I've done. I've blocked the outside world off and just tried to focus on coming into this tournament with a clear head, fully focused to help my team and that's the most important thing.

"I've haven't tried to listen to any noise outside – focus on myself, I know what I can bring to the team and it's as simple as that."

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Southgate hailed Sterling's all-round contribution on a sweltering London afternoon, with the winger's 12 duels contested more than any of his team-mates.

"He's been a reliable performer for us for a long period of time and his goals record in the last two-and-a-half years with us and with his club… even this year, I know people are saying he hasn't hit the heights but he's still one-in-three for his club," he said, seemingly joining Sterling in the block-noise-out club.

"We can't have all the scoring burden on Harry [Kane]. You've got to have players in those wide areas and in midfield who can chip in as well.

"I thought he looked a threat the whole day. I have to also say his work without the ball was phenomenal, positionally and the desire to track and stop them advancing."

Phillips was another player to catch the eye with and without the ball.

He was second to Sterling with 11 duels contested and recovered possession more often than any other England player (seven).

The 25-year-old completed 31 of 33 passes overall and 19 of 20 inside the opposition half, including his assist for Sterling at the end of a driving run and a wonderful piece of skill.

"To be able to work with the coach [Marcelo Bielsa] that he has and to have a season of playing in the Premier League will have given him tremendous confidence," Southgate said.

"All those attributes were there – the range of passing, the athleticism, the desire. He's just a very good footballer – high performance, low maintenance. We like that a lot."

Sterling was understandably very appreciative of Phillips' performance.

"He was good in there, he brings a lot of energy to the team. He's on the front foot, at opposition midfielders and always in their faces," he added.

"At the same time he's great with the ball, uses the ball well. For our goal you can see the clever play, the drive with the ball, the little skill at the end and a great weight of pass.

"He brings a lot to the team. It's a credit to him – first major tournament and he's done brilliantly today."

Denmark's Euro 2020 match against Finland on Saturday should not have restarted following the cardiac arrest suffered by Christian Eriksen, according to head coach Kasper Hjulmand. 

Inter midfielder Eriksen was given CPR by medics in the first half of the Group B match after falling to the ground with no other player around him.

The fixture was originally suspended, but Eriksen was later confirmed to be "awake" and the game resumed a little under two hours later, with Finland winning 1-0 in Copenhagen.

The Danish Football Union (DBU) provided a further update early on Sunday confirming Eriksen was in a stable condition pending further examinations, while team doctor Morten Boesen later revealed he had suffered a cardiac arrest.

Boesen said the 29-year-old "was gone" before being resuscitated.

The players only agreed to finish the game once they had been assured Eriksen was in a comfortable condition, with Hjulmand revealing after the game that they had also been given the option of resuming the match on Sunday. 

Speaking at a media conference on Sunday, Hjulmand said it was not right that his players finished the game so soon after going through such a traumatic experience.

"No, we should not have played," Hjulmand said.

"Players have different reactions to shocks and trauma but we'll try to get back to normal as much as possible.

"I get the feeling from the players that maybe the time is too short to try to play football again, but maybe we can use it as a force to get together and try to go out and do our best in the next match."

Meanwhile, former Denmark international Peter Schmeichel, father of current goalkeeper Kasper, said UEFA's stance lacked "compassion". 

"They should have tried to work out a different scenario and shown a little bit of compassion, and they didn't," he told BBC Radio 5 live.

"That would be the worst two hours of my time in football. Something terrible like that happens and UEFA gives the players an option to go out and play the game or come back at midday on Sunday. What kind of option is that?

"The result of the game is completely irrelevant. I mean, how can you play?"

Austria finally registered a first European Championship win at the seventh attempt as they ruined North Macedonia's first outing at a major tournament with a 3-1 triumph in Bucharest.

Substitutes Michael Gregoritsch and Marko Arnautovic both scored in the final 12 minutes to make sure Franco Foda's side claimed all three points from the Group C tussle.

After fellow debutants Finland recorded a 1-0 triumph over Denmark on Saturday, North Macedonia had appeared on course to mark their maiden appearance with a point against opponents who beat them twice in qualifying.

Having struck in the second leg to see off Georgia in the play-offs and secure a spot at Euro 2020, Goran Pandev became the second oldest scorer in the competition's history when he capitalised on an unexpected opportunity to tap in an equaliser.

Goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann failed to hold on when sliding out to grab the ball ahead of Aleksandar Trajkovski, a three-way collision also involving David Alaba allowing the ever-alert Pandev to convert into an unguarded net with his team's first attempt.

Austria had opened the scoring with an eye-catching goal, Marcel Sabitzer's raking pass finding the advancing Stefan Lainer, who showed impressive attacking instincts for a defender with a side-footed volley from a tight angle that flashed beyond Stole Dimitrievski.

There was not so much to admire about the build-up play and finish for North Macedonia's equaliser, not that they cared too much.

Arnautovic was summoned from the bench early in the second half to try and inspire Austria, though it was fellow replacement Gregoritsch who scored the game's crucial third goal, the Augsburg forward making a near-post run to apply the finishing touch to Alaba's inviting cross from the left flank. 
 
Any hope of a tiring North Macedonia rallying for a second time disappeared when Arnautovic went clean through in the 89th minute, calmly rounding Dimitrievski to wrap up the victory. 

What's next?

Both teams are back in action on Thursday. North Macedonia will be remaining in Bucharest for their second fixture, against Ukraine. Austria, meanwhile, move on to Amsterdam to take on the Netherlands.

Lionel Messi begins his latest quest for international glory on Monday when Argentina start their Copa America campaign against Chile.

Twice a losing finalist in 2015 and 2016 - each time to Chile - the Albiceleste came third at the tournament two years ago after losing in the semi-finals to Brazil.

While they did at least defeat La Roja in that bronze-medal match, those two penalty shoot-out losses were tough to swallow for Messi, who has been unable to match his remarkable club success for his country.

Only Uruguay (15) have won this tournament more often than Argentina (14), but their last title came in 1993 and they have lost four consecutive finals, having also been beaten in 2004 and 2007.

Argentina hold the records for both most goals scored (462) and most appearances (195) in the history of the Copa America and can at least feel buoyed by the fact they have not lost a match since that 2-0 defeat to Brazil in the last four in 2019.

They drew with Chile and Colombia in their most recent matches in World Cup qualifying, each time after taking the lead, but there appears to be a growing belief within the squad around coach Lionel Scaloni's ideas.

"The truth is the team is really well, the group is really well. We're getting to know each other more and consolidating the coaching staff's idea," Giovani Lo Celso said this week, as per Ole.

"As we know, all South American teams and matches are very difficult. It's all very balanced, very competitive and we know there are no easy games. It's going to be a very difficult group."

Chile's preparations were blighted by a foot injury suffered by Alexis Sanchez, with the Inter forward not now expected to be fit until the knockout phase.

They have only won three matches since the previous tournament and have only played three games this year under coach Martin Lasarte, who took charge in February.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Argentina – Lionel Messi

Still the go-to star for Argentina 16 years after his debut, this year's Copa America and the 2022 World Cup look like being Messi's final chances for international glory.

He might be turning 34 this month, but his powers remain imperious: he was directly involved in 50 goals (38 scored, 12 assisted) in 47 games for Barcelona in 2020-21. Only three players in Europe's top-five leagues managed more.

Chile – Carlos Palacios

An unknown at senior tournament level, Carlos Palacios will be familiar to some crowds in Brazil, having joined Internacional on loan from Union Espanola this year.

Still awaiting a first start for his country, the 20-year-old could well be called upon in the absence of Sanchez as Chile bid to come through Group B games with Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay.

KEY OPTA FACTS

- Argentina are unbeaten in their 28 Copa America clashes with Chile. Their 28 games are the most against a single opponent without defeat in their Copa America history.
- Chile's two Copa America titles came in consecutive editions – claiming glory in both the 2015 and 2016 tournaments.
- Argentina have beaten every single opponent in this year's Copa America more times than they have lost to them in tournament history.
- Chile made it at least to the quarter-finals in seven of the past eight editions.

Luis Enrique has insisted Spain do not have a lack of leaders in their group in the absence of captain Sergio Busquets.

Barcelona midfielder Busquets will miss Spain's opening Euro 2020 match against Sweden in Seville on Monday after testing positive for coronavirus.

The 32-year-old is one of the key figureheads in La Roja's squad, which is the youngest in the tournament, but Luis Enrique is confident others – including himself – can fill the void.

"We do not lack leadership," he said at a news conference ahead of Spain's Group E opener against Sweden on Monday. 

"The 23 others are going to lead because they are the ones that make the decisions on the pitch. 

"I'm going to lead from the sidelines, too, as all coaches do. If a coach doesn't lead, that's a bad sign.

"But in this national team everyone has to lead on the field. They have to carry this out. Our strength is the group and we are prepared."

Spain have won only one of their last five opening matches at a major tournament, beating the Czech Republic 1-0 at Euro 2016.

La Roja's last game at a tournament was their last-16 defeat to Russia on penalties at the 2018 World Cup, but Luis Enrique is optimistic of success at Euro 2020. 

"I'm not worried – we are ready," he said. "Until the contrary is proven, I'll continue to think we can compete at the highest level.

"What I'm telling you is not a lie; I really believe it. I'm still confident.

"Our match plan will always be the same. We have clear objectives in attack, to generate as many chances as possible and to dominate the rival.

"When defending we must press as high as possible to win the ball back. I hope that come tomorrow night we can find a good rhythm and maintain our levels."

Sweden are taking part in their seventh European Championship finals and enter the tournament on a five-match winning run that has seen them keep four clean sheets.

Luis Enrique is expecting a tough opening test at Estadio Olimpico de la Cartuja before meetings with Slovakia and Poland.

"Sweden are a team that play direct. They have strong, quality players, even if they are going to be without Dejan Kulusevski," the Spain head coach said.

"We are going to try to focus on our strongest areas.

"The first game helps set the pulse for the competition. It is not easy for many reasons, but we are hopeful we can be at our best."

There are question marks over who will start in goal for Spain, though Luis Enrique is not giving anything away in terms of team selection on the eve of the match.

"David de Gea, Robert Sanchez or Unai Simon – one of those will play," he said.

Monday's meeting will be the fourth between the two sides at a major tournament, with Spain winning twice – most recently at Euro 2008 – and Sweden winning the other.

Scotland are this year making their first appearance in a European Championship since 1996, but they face one of the tournament's staple sides in the Czech Republic.

While the Czechs are not the force they once were during the mid-2000s, they are taking part in their 10th Euro (Czechoslovakia included), including their seventh in a row – an uninterrupted streak since 1996.

Only Germany (13) and France (eight) are currently on longer such runs, but, surprisingly, Scotland and the Czech Republic have never met in a major tournament.

The omens are good for Steve Clarke's team, however, as Scotland have won each of their last three matches against the Czech Republic, their longest current winning run against any of the other 23 nations qualified for Euro 2020.

Featuring in Group D alongside England and Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic may be the most likely teams to be fighting it out for third place.

Clarke is anticipating a tough test, with the Czech Republic possessing some quality players such as Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick and West Ham duo Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek.

"The Czech Republic give us different problems to England and Croatia, so that can have a bearing on selection, but I am pretty settled [on the team]," he said.

"The good thing for me is that no matter who I select, I expect them all to be fantastic for their country. As a manager or a coach, that's a big thing that you can trust all your players."

"In our last away game against Scotland, we had many opportunities that we didn't take, and the opponent punished us with a single goal," Clarke's counterpart Jaroslav Silhavy said. 

"I think it may be third time lucky. We will get there."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Scotland – John McGinn

Including the play-offs, Aston Villa midfielder McGinn was directly involved in over half of Scotland's goals in Euro 2020 qualifying, scoring seven and assisting two of the Tartan Army's 17 strikes. He has enjoyed another fine season in the Premier League, and will be out to prove himself on the biggest stage.

Czech Republic – Tomas Soucek

The Czech Republic scored 54 per cent of their goals in the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign from set-pieces (seven out of 13), the joint-highest ratio (including penalties) of any side to qualify for the tournament (level with Hungary). West Ham star Soucek is a real set-piece threat, having netted three headers in the league in 2020-21, while four of his 10 goals came from set-pieces.

KEY OPTA FACTS

- Scotland have failed to score in four of their six previous European Championship matches, though they have also kept a clean sheet in three of their six games in the competition.

- Since the Czech Republic reached the European Championship final in 1996 (1-2 vs Germany), they have been knocked out in the group stages in four of their six appearances at major tournaments (World Cup and Euros).

- This will be Scotland’s 11th appearance at a major tournament (World Cup and Euros), including their first Euro participation since 1996. They have never progressed past the group stages in any of their previous 10.

- Scotland became the first team to qualify for the European Championships despite losing as many as five games in their qualifying group. They were also the only team in the qualifiers to register a negative goal difference (-3) among the 24 nations to have reached the finals (including play-off games).

- The Czech Republic have lost six of their last nine games at the European Championship (W2 D1), as many defeats as they suffered in their previous 22 such fixtures beforehand. They have also only drawn one of their last 19 games at the tournament, a 2-2 stalemate against Croatia in the 2016 group stages (W8 L10).

Kylian Mbappe has insisted he has never asked Paris Saint-Germain to sign any players in response to recent comments made by president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

The 22-year-old's future at the Parc des Princes remains a hot topic of discussion as he is soon to enter the final year of his contract.

He did little to quell speculation earlier this week in an interview with France Football when admitting he is unsure whether PSG is the best place for him.

That comes on the back of rumours that Mbappe is stalling on signing a new contract until more high-profile signings are made by last season's Ligue 1 runners-up.

In response to that, Al-Khelaifi stated earlier this week "it is not possible" for Mbappe to have any say over the club's recruitment and that he will not be sold in the current transfer window.

When asked about those comments at a news conference while on France duty, Mbappe denied ever discussing transfer targets with Al-Khelaifi or director Leonardo.

"I have never asked for a single player from the president or Leonardo. I am a simple football player," he told reporters on Sunday ahead of France's Euro 2020 opener against Germany.

"But I'm here to represent France – the team is the most important thing. I don't want to disrupt the group."

Mbappe is coming off the back of another impressive campaign for PSG in which he scored 42 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions, an average of one every 88.62 minutes.

In Europe's top five leagues, only Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (48) scored more goals in all competitions than Mbappe in 2020-21.

Mbappe scored at a greater rate than his expected goals (xG) number, which averaged out at 34.14, while also providing 11 assists.

He is expected to start France's Group F showdown with Germany at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

Les Blues are taking part in their 10th European Championship finals, and their eighth in a row, last failing to make the competition in 1988.

Only Germany and Spain (three each) have won more European Championships than the two won by France in 1984 and 2000.

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."

Kylian Mbappe was left disappointed by Olivier Giroud's comments over a perceived lack of service, though he insists the situation between the pair will not overshadow France's bid for glory at Euro 2020.

The reigning world champions kick off their campaign in the delayed tournament on Tuesday, as they take on Group F rivals Germany at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Les Bleus recorded successive 3-0 wins in warm-up fixtures against Wales and Bulgaria, Giroud scoring twice against the latter after coming on as a substitute.

However, the Chelsea striker – who now has 46 international goals, just five behind Thierry Henry in the country's all-time scoring list – said in a post-match press conference that he did not feel team-mates had looked for him enough when in possession.

His remarks were perceived to be aimed at Mbappe - the pair completed just one pass between each other during their time together on the pitch – and the 22-year-old had the opportunity to respond on Sunday, having been denied the opportunity to speak to the media earlier in the week.

"We talked about it, we discussed it, it made people talk, everyone knows what happened. I was a little affected, but we are not going to make a big deal out of it," Mbappe said.

"The team remains the most important thing, such situations are not going to disrupt our preparation. We are focused on the same objective."

Asked again about the relationship between the pair, the Paris Saint-Germain forward made clear he was not happy with Giroud airing his feelings to the media, rather than in the changing room after the friendly fixture.

"What he said didn't bother me more than that, I'm a striker and I've had this feeling 365 times in a game," Mbappe continued.

"I congratulated him in the locker room, he didn't say anything to me and then I heard from the press. He didn't say anything bad. It's more the fact of him talking publicly, I would have preferred him to come and be more open in the locker room.

"But that's not a problem, these are small things. The team does not need us to get in the way."

He added: "The most important thing is to talk about it, to straighten things out and put it all after the group.

"I repeat, the most important thing is the group and this European Championship. This micro-episode disturbed the fact that we are focused on one thing and one thing only, it is the Euros and this first match against Germany."

Mbappe made clear that while he may not pass the ball as often to Giroud during games as, for example, France team-mate Karim Benzema or PSG colleague Neymar, that is due to situational factors, rather than any personal preference.

"Neymar touches the ball 150 times per game. Benzema touches it 80. Olivier touches it a lot less given his profile. If you compare the number of passes I make to Benzema or Neymar compared to Giroud, of course it is fewer to Olivier," he said.

"But that doesn't mean that I don't look for him. It's just that his profile is different. Benzema comes 40 metres from the goal to get touches, Giroud prefers to stay up front and be present in the box.

"You imply that I do not want to pass to Giroud. I say that these players have different profiles."

Towards the end of a fairly torrid first 15 minutes at Wembley for Croatia, Mateo Kovacic shuffled away from his penalty area with the ball at his feet and boos swelled up.

It was notable that the England supporters had not had cause to goad any significant spell of Croatian possession up until that point. Still, on Kovacic went and found the normally sure-footed Marcelo Brozovic, who duffed the ball out of play.

England gained a measure of revenge for their World Cup semi-final defeat to these opponents three years ago in the 2018-19 Nations League, but the more comparable stakes of this Euro 2020 opener meant talk of a rematch dominated the build-up.

In Moscow, Luka Modric and his midfield cohort deftly cut away England's early advantage via a thousand passes (well, 594 if we're being sticklers for the statistics over 120 minutes) to reach the final.

The spectacle of the Three Lions surrendering central areas to a technically proficient team was very familiar, for all that Gareth Southgate's side threatened a new beginning.

In the interim period, particularly the 12-month delay to the start of this tournament, the England manager has churned through plenty of squad turnover, with fresh faces not scarred by that agonising near-miss.

But new men repeating old mistakes is no way to end 55 years of hurt, and there was something of that in the much-discussed team sheet that Southgate produced.

Vibrant attacking talents such as Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho – the latter not even making the bench – having to look on as a two-man defensive midfield shield lined up, were unpopular notes of caution at a time of national fervour.

Yorkshire Pirlo purrs on the big stage

But having Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips manning central areas was key to passages of play such as Kovacic and Brozovic's ponderous exchange unfolding, as Phil Foden rattled the post and England threatened to fly out of the blocks.

Modric dropped deep to apply a measure of control before the interval and Chelsea's Kovacic found a smooth rhythm, but not to the extent they escaped Phillips. Freed from his usual holding role, the Leeds United man was everywhere – even flagged offside, something that never happened to him during the whole 2020-21 domestic season.

From the Stockport Iniesta to the Yorkshire Pirlo, this England team have their share of daft nudge-wink nicknames (shhhh, Modric might think they're being arrogant) but Phillips did all he could to live up to his, completing 95 per cent of his passes in the opposition half.

Bolstered by Mason Mount's clever movement and use of the ball, Croatia's midfield maestros were never allowed to enjoy Wembley's vast expanses.

That is not to say everything Southgate plumped for worked. Harry Kane was a worryingly marginal presence and only had two touches in the Croatia box. With one of those, he failed to convert at the back post when found by a brilliant Mount cross – the sort of first-time delivery usually not available as Kieran Trippier, the right-back playing at left-back, who checked back on to his stronger foot time and again.

But arguably Southgate's most disputed call proved decisive.

Sterling sounds righteous roar for Three Lions

Amid clamour for the dazzling Grealish to be unleashed, popular opinion had turned against Raheem Sterling's presence in the England attack. As Manchester City claimed a third Premier League title in four seasons, he became an unusually bit-part player for Pep Guardiola. His outing in the Champions League final defeat against Chelsea in Porto did plenty to explain why.

The 26-year-old has one goal for his club since February but has been a mainstay for Southgate, who chose to reward those performances. Since the last World Cup, Sterling's 12 goals and six assists were second only to Kane, while no England player had more than his 11 from open play.

Even when he is not in top form, Sterling makes life hell for defenders. On a sweltering day at the national stadium that overlooks his childhood home, he did not stop. His 12 duels contested were more than any team-mate and he forced a promising first-half free-kick from which Trippier hit the wall.

As the hour approached, Sterling was still without a goal for England in a major tournament. Then Phillips strode through midfield with poise and power to pick out the forward, who held his nerve to pouch a 1-0 victory.

"I've always said, if I'm playing at Wembley in a major tournament – my back garden – then I'm scoring," the beaming matchwinner told BBC Sport afterwards.

In the wider context of this game, there could not be a more fitting match-winner for a team taking a knee and taking a stand for positive change.

Sterling has been at the forefront of these conversations since calling out unequal media coverage for white and black players in December 2018, the day after he was abused from the stands in a match at Chelsea.

A year earlier, he was attacked outside City's training ground by a man who received prison time for kicking him and hurling racist abuse ahead of a game against Tottenham. Sterling scored twice in a 4-1 win.

He also scored for England while targeted by monkey chants in Montenegro and Bulgaria in 2019. With dignity and eloquence, Sterling has been at his best when faced with the worst of this sport. His roar of righteous joy back on home turf was richly deserved.

Raheem Sterling is delighted to be playing a major part for England after he bookended a difficult time with Manchester City by scoring the winner against Croatia.

England started their Euro 2020 Group D campaign with a 1-0 victory at Wembley, Sterling netting in the 57th minute.

It was the 26-year-old's 19th direct goal involvement (13 goals, six assists) in his last 17 appearances for England, while it was his first strike in a major tournament.

Sterling endured a difficult end to the season at City, and regularly found himself out of Pep Guardiola's first XI, though he did start in the Champions League final.

Yet the former Liverpool man, who has been rumoured to be unhappy with his playing time at City, is thrilled to be in the England camp.

"It feels good. I've always said, if I play at Wembley in a major tournament, then I'm scoring, it's in my back garden, I have to score! It's great to finally do that," he told BBC Sport.

"There's a lot of different reasons why I haven't scored for my club, that's totally irrelevant now. I'm here with England, enjoying my football and I'm just happy to score.

"It's been a long season for me, I couldn't wait to get here, couldn't wait to get started because I knew it would be a positive one.

"It's great to get off with a win, that's the most important thing, now we've got the other games to look forward to and we go again."

Sterling – who has played 23 games for England at Wembley without losing, more than any other player – was selected ahead of Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford, but asked if he felt the need to justify Gareth Southgate's choice, he quipped: "Have I justified my selection? I'm trying!"

The winner was teed up by the excellent Kalvin Phillips, who put in a dominant performance in midfield on his major tournament debut.

Phillips completed 95 per cent of his 20 attempted passes in Croatia's half, completing 31 of 33 overall, and dovetailed brilliantly with Declan Rice.

"It was very enjoyable, really warm for a start, it took a toll on us towards the end of the game," Phillips told BBC Sport.

"Obviously a great result, very happy with my performance but there's two more group games left and I need to perform as well as that, if not better.

"I'm just laid back, that's the kind of person I am, regardless of what's been thrown at me I just try to take it in my path and relax as much as possible. If I didn't have the team or coaching staff around me to make me feel like that I don't think it'd be possible.

"I love playing with Declan, I love playing in the role where I can go forward and I know Declan is behind me backing me up in case I get beat. There's a lot of talk about me and Declan fighting for a position but when you look at it we play really well together."

Southgate added: "Kalvin is a player who is so understated, He's had a fantastic start to his international career, he was immense throughout the game, as they all were."

Spain will look to put their fraught preparations behind them when they begin their Euro 2020 campaign against Sweden on Monday.

The past week has been one of real uncertainty for La Roja following Sergio Busquets' positive test for coronavirus.

The senior squad were forced to isolate, with back-up options summoned from holidays to take part in a parallel training bubble in case of further infections, while the Under-21s took to the field for last Monday's final warm-up friendly against Lithuania.

Diego Llorente returned what was later confirmed to be a false positive test and, thankfully for coach Luis Enrique, there were no further cases.

Llorente, who was applauded by team-mates after returning to training, said: "The reception was one of the most special things that has happened to me.

"It's a sign of the unity the whole team has. The team is very united, and that reception was something I didn't expect."

Fostering unity in the side has been of paramount importance to Luis Enrique, especially amid the consternation back in the capital over his decision not to include Sergio Ramos, or indeed any Real Madrid players, in his squad.

The former Barcelona boss has a mixture of experience and uncertainty at this level as he bids to lead Spain to a record fourth European Championship triumph and third in the past five tournaments.

They begin Group E in Seville against Sweden, who have lost the previous two meetings at major championships and kept only one clean sheet in their previous 12 games against Spain.

Janne Anderson's side have lost six of their past eight games at the Euros, their only win in that run coming against France back in 2012. They scored just once at Euro 2016, too – and that was an own goal from Republic of Ireland defender Ciaran Clark.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Spain – Thiago Alcantara

With Busquets missing at least against Sweden, it may well fall on Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara to operate as dictator-in-chief in the Spain midfield.

He completed 51 of 56 passes in the friendly draw with Portugal on June 4, exactly the same number as Busquets, so the shift in role should not prove too disruptive.

Sweden – Alexander Isak

The loss of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to injury before the tournament means the Sweden goalscoring burden is firmly on the shoulders of Alexander Isak.

The Real Sociedad striker scored 17 times in LaLiga last season but only has two senior international goals since 2019.

KEY OPTA FACTS

- This is the fourth meeting between Spain and Sweden at a major tournament (World Cup and European Championship), after World Cup 1950 (3-1 to Sweden), World Cup 1978 (1-0 to Spain) and Euro 2008 (2-1 to Spain).
- Spain have reached the knockout stages of the European Championship in five of their past six participations, the only exception coming in 2004 when they were eliminated in the group phase.
- La Roja have lost only two of their previous 16 games at the European Championship (W11 D3) with those two defeats coming in their last two matches (against Croatia and Italy, June 2016).
- Spain's last 37 goals in the European Championship finals have all been scored from inside the box. Their last attempt to be scored from distance was Raul's strike against Slovenia in the group stages of the 2000 edition.
- Sweden are taking part in their seventh European Championship. In fact, since their first participation as Euro hosts in 1992 – which remains their best performance (semi-finalists) – they have qualified for every tournament except 1996.

Jude Bellingham became the youngest player to appear in a European Championship match as the 17-year-old England midfielder came off the bench against Croatia.

The Borussia Dortmund player replaced captain Harry Kane in the 82nd minute and earned a fifth senior cap.

He made history in the Euros with his appearance at the age of 17 years and 349 days, Opta said. Bellingham also became England's youngest player in any major tournament.

Previously, the youngest player from any nation to appear in a European Championship finals tournament was Jetro Willems, who featured for the Netherlands against Denmark at Euro 2012 at the age of 18 years and 71 days.

England were leading Croatia on Sunday by the time Bellingham made his appearance, thanks to Raheem Sterling's 57th-minute strike.

Gareth Southgate's team went on to tie up a 1-0 victory in their Euro 2020 Group D opener, meaning England won their opening match at a European Championship for the first time, having previously had five draws and four defeats.

Raheem Sterling's first goal at a major tournament saw England get their Euro 2020 campaign off to a winning start, as they beat Croatia 1-0 at Wembley.

Having never won their opening game at a European Championship, England ended the wait to take a big step towards progression from Group D.

In stark contrast to their World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia in 2018, Gareth Southgate's side enjoyed a measure of control throughout, albeit Phil Foden's early strike against the upright was the closest they came until the 57th minute when Sterling broke his tournament duck.

Harry Kane squandered a great chance to double England's lead, but the Three Lions were not made to pay by an ineffective Croatia attack.

The pre-match build up was dominated by whether fans at Wembley would boo the taking of the knee, but the vast majority of spectators seemed well on side with England's players ahead of kick-off.

They were almost celebrating a goal in the sixth minute – Foden's curling effort hitting the post at the culmination of a swift attack led by Sterling.

Dominik Livakovic subsequently had to parry away Kalvin Phillips' volley as Croatia failed to clear their lines amid constant pressure.

England failed to keep the momentum up, and the malaise continued into the second half until, just as the Wembley crowd seemed to grow anxious, the breakthrough arrived.

Phillips made an excellent run to inject pace into a move that looked to be going nowhere, with the Leeds United midfielder keeping his poise to find Sterling, whose first-time finish had too much power on it for Livakovic.

Kane seemed set to make it 2-0 from Mason Mount's cross soon after, only for Josko Gvardiol to do enough to block off the England captain, who tumbled into the woodwork.

Ante Rebic and Marcelo Brozovic lashed wide as Croatia rallied, though chances going begging for Mount and Sterling at the other end failed to lift the visitors, who lost a Euro opener for the first time.

Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest when collapsing on the pitch against Finland and "was gone" before being resuscitated, Denmark's team doctor has said.

Inter midfielder Eriksen was given CPR by medics in the first half of Saturday's Euro 2020 match after falling to the ground with no other player around him.

The fixture was originally suspended, but Eriksen was later confirmed to be "awake" and the game resumed a little under two hours later, with Finland winning 1-0 in Copenhagen.

The Danish Football Union (DBU) provided a further update on Sunday confirming Eriksen remains in a stable condition pending further examinations.

"His condition is stable and he continues to be hospitalised for further examination," the statement read.

"This morning we have spoken to Christian, who has sent his greetings to his team-mates.

"The team and staff of the national team has received crisis assistance and will continue to be there for each other after yesterday's incident.

"We would like to thank everyone for their heartfelt greetings."

Speaking at a news conference called by the DBU on Sunday, team doctor Morten Boesen revealed the full extent of the worrying incident that overshadowed the result itself.

"We got him back after one defib. That's quite fast," Boesen said. "He was gone. We did cardiac resuscitation, it was a cardiac arrest. How close were we [to losing him]? I don't know."

Denmark skipper Simon Kjaer has been widely praised for stopping Eriksen from swallowing his tongue and placing his stricken team-mate in the recovery position.

Medics were on the field within seconds and provided the 29-year-old with life-saving treatment, before escorting him to a nearby hospital where he is being monitored.

"When I got to him, he was on his side, he was breathing, I could feel a pulse, but suddenly that changed and we started to give him CPR," Boesen said.

"The help came really fast from the medical team and the rest of the staff with their co-operation, and we did what we had to do and managed to get Christian back."

Denmark's next Group B match is against Belgium in Copenhagen on Thursday.