On a sweltering night in Rome, the Three Lions scored very early in the first half through Harry Kane and even more rapidly a start of the second with Harry Maguire on target.Looked composed and organised, with a cutting edge throughout, Gareth Southgate’s team kept their foot on throttle and Kane headed in his second with 50 minutes played. A Mount corner was then converted by Jordan Henderson with the win setting up a meeting with Andreas Christensen and Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday.

Playing a side managed by former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko, England kept the ball and moved it well against opposition who came into this quarter-final off the back of a gruelling extra-time contest in their previous match, and they reaped the benefit as Ukraine wilted in the heat and England made the most of their substitutes.Mount was one of two changes to the starting 11 made by Southgate, the other being Jadon Sancho, with the defence returning from a three to a four.The Chelsea Player of the Year, who had missed the previous two games due to a period of isolation, had a mobile role behind the three forwards, and played his part defensively and in attacking moves.

Ben Chilwell returned to the England bench although Reece James was not among the subs on this occasion.The Three Lions start could not have been any better with only three minutes on the clock when Kane put them ahead. Raheem Sterling had cut inside before passing through the yellow-kitted backline to the England captain for a first-time finish.

There was brief hope for an England penalty for a challenge on Mount as his side’s good beginning continued, although Jordan Pickford did have to make a save from Roman Yaremchuk with quarter-of-an-hour played after an under-hit pass.Kane headed a free-kick over and Declan Rice had a drive pushed out with Mount’s follow-up effort blocked, as England increased the pressure towards the interval, and the Chelsea man was soon back in his own area making two important challenges to thwart one of the best Ukraine attacks of the game.

Sancho struck a shot on the turn straight at the keeper and Mykola Shaparenko sliced wide for Ukraine under pressure from Mount, as the first half ended with England the one goal ahead.The wait to go 2-0 up once the whistle went again was very brief. A free-kick did the damage, whipped over by Luke Shaw and headed in emphatically by Maguire, and it was Shaw who crossed for Kane to head home in open play not long after following a good England move with Mount involved.A sharp save denied Kane a hat-trick before, just past the hour, a Mount out-swinging corner led to a hat-trick of England headed goals, substitute Henderson with the 63rd-minute finish to complete the scoring.

England are still yet to concede a goal in the competition.Following the 2018 World Cup, they have now made the semi-finals in consecutive tournaments.