Germany's press conference was understandably different.
Löw accepted responsibility for the defeat rather than searching for excuses.
"For approximately sixty minutes, I thought we controlled many of the situations we wanted to control. England were dangerous in transition, but we limited Ling's opportunities to receive facing our defensive line."
Then came the second half.
"Our distances became larger. The pressing was no longer synchronized in the same way, and against players with England's speed, that becomes dangerous very quickly."
When Ling's name inevitably appeared, Löw sighed before answering.
"What can I say? We knew his quality before the match."
He paused.
"Knowing it and stopping it are different things."
There was no complaint about fairness or one player somehow being too good for international football. Germany had arrived with Neuer, Kroos, Müller, Kimmich, Havertz and a squad filled with Champions League-level players.
They had lost.
That happened.
"He had three chances where his quality became decisive," Löw continued. "The first goal changed the emotional direction of the match. After that, England became stronger and we became less stable."
That was painful enough without inventing another explanation.
...
The remaining Round of 16 matches gradually completed the quarterfinal bracket.
Denmark continued their remarkable tournament by beating Wales convincingly.
The Czech Republic eliminated the Netherlands.
Belgium edged past Portugal.
Italy survived a difficult contest against Austria.
Spain emerged from an extraordinary match with Croatia.
Switzerland produced the shock of the round by eliminating world champions France on penalties.
And in the final match, Ukraine defeated Sweden after extra time.
That result settled England's next opponent.
Ukraine.
The quarterfinal would be played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
For the first time in the tournament, England would have to leave Wembley.
...
Later that evening, the atmosphere at St George's Park had finally become quieter.
Recovery had already begun.
Players who had started against Germany were eating, rehydrating and receiving treatment, while the coaching staff prepared the first clips of Ukraine.
There was no serious tactical meeting yet.
That could wait until the following morning.
Even so, several players had already begun discussing the draw.
"Ukraine are better than people are going to say they are," Maguire remarked.
That was obvious enough.
A team did not reach a European Championship quarterfinal by accident.
Andriy Shevchenko's side had quality throughout the team, with Oleksandr Zinchenko capable of influencing the game from several positions, Ruslan Malinovskyi offering a dangerous left foot from midfield, and Andriy Yarmolenko bringing experience and creativity from wide areas.
Roman Yaremchuk provided a physical presence up front.
Their greatest strength, however, was probably that England were expected to beat them.
That changed the psychological shape of the match completely.
Nobody had needed to motivate England against Germany.
The fixture did half the work itself.
Ukraine presented a different challenge.
If England approached the quarterfinal believing the difficult part of the tournament had already been completed, they would be asking to go home.
Ling scrolled through several clips on the tablet in front of him.
Germany had tried to press England high and control the match through possession.
Ukraine were unlikely to approach them in exactly the same way.
They could defend deeper.
They could narrow the spaces around Kane.
They could force England to circulate possession for long periods and wait for frustration.
In some ways, that might be more uncomfortable.
Ling had spent years at Manchester United learning the difference between facing a powerful opponent who wanted the ball and a disciplined opponent who was perfectly happy to let you have it.
Both could hurt you, just differently.
...
The room had become unusually serious by the time Grealish wandered over with his recovery drink and dropped into an empty chair.
He listened to the discussion for perhaps thirty seconds before shaking his head.
"Why does everyone look miserable? We've just beaten Germany."
Several players glanced toward him.
Grealish continued before anyone could answer.
"I'm not saying Ukraine are easy. They're obviously not. But imagine being them right now. They've just gone through extra time against Sweden and their reward is England after we've beaten Germany at Wembley."
That earned a few smiles.
"The pressure's on us because everyone expects us to win," he added, "but that works both ways. They know they have to deal with Kane, Sterling, Sancho, Mount, Rashford..."
His eyes moved toward Ling.
"And that idiot."
Ling raised his eyebrows.
Grealish pointed at him.
"You've scored seven goals already. If I were Ukraine, I'd be having a terrible evening."
The tension around the table eased.
He had a point.
Respecting an opponent did not require being frightened of them.
England had every reason to study Ukraine seriously.
They also had every reason to trust their own quality.
Ling leaned back in his chair.
"Exactly. We prepare properly, then we make them worry about us."
Grealish nodded approvingly.
"That's what I just said."
"You took longer."
"I made it entertaining."
Maguire groaned from across the table.
The conversation dissolved into laughter.
For the first time since the Germany match ended, the quarterfinal felt slightly less like an approaching examination and more like another football match waiting to be played.
Ling looked once more at the tablet.
Ukraine.
Rome.
Quarterfinal.
Win, and England would be one match away from the final.
Lose, and everything they had done against Croatia, the Czech Republic and Germany would immediately become part of a tournament that had ended too soon.
The equation was simple enough.
Prepare.
Recover.
Then win again!
...
July 4, 2020.
Rome, Italy.
The summer heat had settled heavily over the Italian capital, lingering even as evening approached, but outside the Stadio Olimpico the atmosphere was considerably hotter than the weather.
England supporters had travelled in enormous numbers despite this being the first match of the tournament Southgate's side would play away from Wembley.
Ukraine had plenty of backing of their own, while thousands of neutral spectators had arrived simply because a European Championship quarterfinal required little additional promotion.
Three hours earlier, the streets around the stadium had already begun filling with shirts, flags and noise.
Now the England team bus was crawling through it.
Ling removed his headphones when the chanting became audible even through the glass and glanced toward the supporters lining the road.
Several noticed him immediately, and the simple act of raising one hand toward the window produced an explosion of waving flags and phones.
Maguire looked across the aisle.
"You've made it worse."
Ling smiled.
"They looked bored."
"They were setting off flares."
"Exactly."
Maguire decided not to argue.
The humor did little to hide the tension on the bus.
Three days earlier, England had beaten Germany 3–1 at Wembley, with Ling scoring all three goals after Müller had given Germany the lead.
The victory had produced celebrations across the country and enough discussion about England's path to the final that Southgate had spent much of the intervening period trying to prevent everyone from looking two matches ahead.
Ukraine were not an inconvenient obstacle between England and the semifinal.
They were the quarterfinal.
Nothing beyond tonight existed yet.
Ling understood that better than most.
He had spent years learning how quickly knockout football punished players who began thinking about the next round before finishing the one in front of them.
Manchester United's Champions League campaigns had contained enough uncomfortable nights to destroy any belief that reputation or form guaranteed progression.
Germany were already irrelevant.
Ukraine were the examination now.
Ling opened the tactical notes on his tablet one final time.
He had prepared thoroughly.
There was nothing else to do until the whistle blew.
...
At the pre-match press conference, Andriy Shevchenko had shown little interest in portraying Ukraine as grateful outsiders who had already exceeded expectations.
"We respect England enormously," he said. "They have excellent players and they have just beaten Germany, but reaching the quarterfinal means we have also earned our place here."
Ukraine's path through the tournament had hardly been simple. They had survived the group stage before eliminating Sweden after extra time, and Shevchenko believed that experience had strengthened rather than exhausted his team.
"If we spend ninety minutes thinking only about England's individual players, we will already have lost. We need courage with the ball, discipline without it, and we need to believe we can create problems for them."
Ling's name inevitably came up.
Seven goals in four matches made avoiding the subject impossible.
Shevchenko smiled.
"One player can change a match. England have several who can do that."
He declined to offer anything more specific.
Southgate was equally restrained in his own press conference.
"Beating Germany was a very good result, but it gave us qualification for the quarterfinal, not the trophy. That distinction matters."
He pointed toward Ukraine's midfield as one of the most important areas of the match.
Oleksandr Zinchenko could move between conventional midfield positions and wider areas, while Mykola Shaparenko was comfortable receiving under pressure and Andriy Yarmolenko remained dangerous whenever he could move onto his left foot.
"Ukraine are capable of playing through pressure, and they're also willing to suffer without the ball. That combination makes them difficult. We need patience, but patience cannot become slow football."
One reporter asked whether England should be overwhelmingly confident after eliminating Germany.
Southgate gave the question a look that made his opinion clear before he even answered.
"Ukraine eliminated Sweden. They are here because they deserve to be here. If we start deciding who should win based on the names involved, there isn't much point playing the match."