On Tuesday, England defeated Germany 2-0 to reach the Euro 2020 quarterfinals. England’s goals were thanks to Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane in the second half.

Both national teams came into the game with skepticism due to their unconvincing group stage performances. England topped Group D by only scoring twice in their three group matches. They won two and tied once to lead Group D. On the other hand, Germany needed a late goal against Hungary to allow them to qualify for the quarterfinals in Group F.

The game between the two teams had few chances in the first half. Jordan Pickford’s save was one of the highlights of the game. Pickford denied Kai Havertz’s shot from the box.

The game ramped up after the first half. Luke Shaw started to play and helped assist England’s first goal of the game. Jack Grealish helped England score the first goal by passing it to Shaw, who passed it across to Sterling for a close-range goal. Sterling’s wonderful tournament and scoring prowess continue. Sterling scored both of England’s goals in the group stage.

Shortly after Sterling’s goal, it looked like Germany was going to tie the game when an opportunity opened up for Thomas Muller. A poor back pass from England allowed Muller to take it to England’s end, where Muller ended up beating the England goalkeeper but missed the net with a wide shot.

England scored a second goal to seal the win. In the 85th minute, Grealish set another goal up for England. Grealish passed it to Kane for a header goal to seal the clean sheet win for England.

“We knew we needed a big performance against a difficult side, and we did that today,” Sterling said after the match. “Doing it for your country is always special.”

England knocked out Germany and advanced to the quarterfinals to play against Ukraine on Saturday. This was only England’s second-ever knockout win at a European, and they have never won the Euro Championship.

San Marino coach Pierangelo Manzaroli and his staff have accused Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller of being disrespectful for comments he made following Germany’s 8-0 World Cup Qualifying win over his national team in Serravalle on Friday.

San Marino Criticize Thomas Muller For Comments After Germany’s 8-0 World Cup Qualifying Win

Muller said he did not “see the point” of Germany playing such games against weaker teams like San Marino, a micro-state, and claimed it posed a risk to professional players like himself to be subjected to some of the tackling amateur players dish out.

“Matches like the one against San Marino have nothing to do with professional football,” said the 27-year-old forward. “I do not understand the meaning of games such as these, more so with such a busy schedule. I understand it for them, especially playing against the world champions, I also understand that we can only defend with hard work. Precisely for this reason, however, I wonder if these are not games that lead to unnecessary risks.”

San Marino director of communications Alan Gasperoni also criticized Muller, and even went as far as compiling a ten-point letter explaining all the reasons he believed the German player was wrong. Gasperoni published this letter via a Facebook post in Italian.

“When a small nation like San Marino play against the world champions Germany, a result like this can happen,” Manzaroli told Mediaset. “The important thing is that respect should never be lacking. I think that also you need to show the right degree of self-control after the match and this is what makes the difference when judging the stature of people.”

He continued: “In this case, this aspect was found wanting. I think the numbers make the difference — we are a country of 30,000 inhabitants and we don’t give out passports for sports reasons. There is a lot of work goes into what we do and I would not read too much into the Germany game because we’ve played lots of games that have been even, especially against some top nations.

“We shouldn’t let remarks like these get to us. We are an amateur national team, but absolutely professional in creating our identity. These remarks are maybe forced on the players by big federations who are perhaps looking to change the system of qualification. Maybe it’s right too, but these things should be said by representatives of the federations and not by the players, who then risk generating a backlash.”

Germany coach Joachim Low defended Muller’s comments at his pre-game news conference ahead of the friendly with Italy on Tuesday, stating the forward is used to competing against players who are “physically and technically professionals.”

MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 15: Thomas Mueller of Germany in action during the International Friendly Match between Italy and Germany at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on November 15, 2016 in Milan, . (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)