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England sweep history and Germany aside to move into last eight

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Photo: Reuters

Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane struck late goals as England reached the Euro 2020 quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Germany at Wembley on Tuesday, their first knockout victory over their old rivals since the 1966 World Cup final.

England will play either Sweden or Ukraine, who meet later on Tuesday in Glasgow, in the last eight after a victory which sent the home crowd of over 40,000 into wild celebration.

It was England‘s first ever knockout round win at the Euros inside 90 minutes and after a build-up dominated by talk of historic and bitter tournament losses to Germany, their focus will now be on making some history of their own.

The visitors’ defeat marked the end of Joachim Loew’s time as Germany coach after 15 years in charge, during which he guided them to the 2014 World Cup title in Brazil.

Debate will continue about England manager Gareth Southgate’s selections but it was telling that both goals came after midfielder Jack Grealish was introduced from the bench in the 69th minute when the entire tempo and mood of the game changed.

Six minutes after Grealish came on he was involved in a flowing passing move which ended with left wing back Luke Shaw deftly slipping the ball across the face of the goal for Sterling to slide in his third goal in four Euro 2020 games.

Yet shortly after scoring Sterling almost gifted the Germans a leveller when he gave the ball away on the halfway line and Kai Havertz sent Thomas Mueller through on goal.

The experienced World Cup winner had only England keeper Jordan Pickford to beat but dragged his shot wide of his right-hand post, leaving Sterling, who watched in anguish on his knees, to leap to his feet in relief.

After that reprieve, and with the crowd roaring England on, Grealish was the direct provider for the second goal, crossing from the left for captain Kane to beat keeper Manuel Neuer with a stooping header.

It was Kane’s first goal of the tournament and his return to scoring ways will be another positive for Southgate as he looks ahead at a potential route to the final.

Southgate’s decision to play a five-man defence and two holding midfielders was a cautious one, but England did start the game brightly.

Sterling tested Neuer in the 16th minute, cutting in from the left flank and finding room to unleash a drive towards the far corner which the Germany keeper did well to get across to.

Much of England‘s probing was coming from Kieran Trippier down the right and he found Harry Maguire in a promising position with a lofted ball to the back post but the centre half’s header was over the bar.

Germany were enjoying plenty of possession in midfield with England sitting deep but they provided a warning of their threat when Havertz slipped through Timo Werner, although Pickford was out quickly to smother.

Just before the break Mats Hummels had to intervene quickly to clear as Kane looked to pounce after Sterling’s burst into the box had caused chaos.

After the interval Germany sensed England had lost their way and went close when Havertz’s powerful drive was superbly tipped over by Pickford.

The game was in the balance but then came Grealish, whose name had been sung by the England fans throughout the game and who lived up to those hopes and expectations by providing the spark England had been missing.

England will head into their quarter-final in Rome on Saturday knowing victory will set-up a semi and potentially a final on home turf back at Wembley.

“Any team will be looking at us and know that we’re dangerous. We want to go all the way so need to keep it up,” said Kane.

“There isn’t anything bigger than this when the expectation is on and we delivered so we should be proud but we can’t stop here. We have a vision of where we want to go and we can’t stop now. Hopefully we’ll be back here in the semi-finals and the final.”

Southgate, though, is as restrained with his words as he is with tactics and said he had been quick to calm his players down.

“We played extremely well, we deserved the win, but I’ve had to say to them straight away, I’m the party pooper; if we don’t capitalise on that on Saturday, it doesn’t count for anything.”

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Feasibility study of trans-Afghan railway to be ready in early 2026: Russian deputy PM

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A feasibility study of the trans-Afghan railway is due to be ready early next year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said at the 16th international economic forum Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum 2025.

“Russian and Uzbek railway specialists are drafting the feasibility study of the trans-Afghan railway construction project together. We are expecting the project feasibility study to be ready in early 2026 so that decisions on its implementation could be made,” Overchuk said, Interfax reported.

The trans-Afghan transport corridor will connect to the European Union, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Southeast Asia. Uzbekistan said in 2023 it had reached an agreement with a number of countries to implement the project, key participants in which, besides Uzbekistan, would be Afghanistan and Pakistan. A preliminary agreement on Russia’s participation in the project was reached in early April 2024, during Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Moscow.

Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan signed an agreement in February 2021 to construct a 573-kilometer railway line through Afghanistan, connecting landlocked Central Asia to Pakistan seaports.

The Uzbek Transport Ministry said earlier it would take at least five years to build the trans-Afghan railway, the tentative cost of which might reach $4.8 billion.

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov told Interfax in April that roughly 8 million to 15 million tonnes of Russian cargo might be annually transported by the prospective trans-Afghan railway.

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Russia considering issue of IEA diplomat for ambassador post: Kabulov

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Russian Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov has said that Moscow is considering the issue of the Islamic Emirate nominating a diplomat for the post of Afghan ambassador to Moscow.

Kabulov said this on the sidelines of an international economic forum in Russia, TASS news agency reported.

Earlier, Russia’s Supreme Court made a decision to suspend the ban on the activities of the Islamic Emirate by the Russian side.

The decision has enhanced conditions for trade and economic relations between the two countries, Afghanistan’s Charge d’Affaires in Moscow Jamal Nasir Garwal said.

“Our trade and economic cooperation was not so successful because the Taliban used to be blacklisted in Russia. Fortunately, after the Supreme Court’s decision, this problem was resolved. This opened up better conditions for developing our cooperation,” the diplomat said at the 16th International Economic Forum Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum.

Garwal expressed hope that Russia and Afghanistan will soon sign investment agreements in geological exploration and mineral resource extraction.

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Agreements signed to accelerate CASA-1000 power project

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In a significant development for regional energy cooperation, several agreements were signed to expedite the implementation of the CASA-1000 power transmission project.

The accords were inked during a high-level meeting in Tajikistan between energy officials from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and representatives of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), Afghanistan’s national power utility.

According to a statement posted on X, the agreements are aimed at accelerating the pace of construction and coordination required for the successful operation of the CASA-1000 project — a major regional initiative linking Central and South Asia through electricity trade.

Abdul Bari Omar, CEO of DABS, highlighted the positive developments in Afghanistan that have paved the way for advancing the project.

“I believe Afghanistan’s current unprecedented security, its centralized transparent and accountable government and the leadership’s firm commitment have created an excellent opportunity for us to successfully implement the CASA-1000 project together,” he said in the meeting.

What is CASA-1000?

The Central Asia–South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project, known as CASA-1000, is a landmark regional initiative designed to export surplus hydropower from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to energy-deficient markets in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Once completed, the project will enable the annual transmission of up to 1,300 megawatts of electricity during the summer months.

The project involves the construction of over 1,200 kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines — including approximately 560 kilometers across Afghan territory — making Afghanistan a key transit country and beneficiary of the energy trade.

Originally launched in 2016 with support from the World Bank and other international donors, CASA-1000 has faced repeated delays due to political instability and security challenges in the region, particularly in Afghanistan.

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