HARRY KANE scored twice as a buoyant England cruised through to the semifinals of Euro 2020 with a one-sided 4-0 win over Ukraine on Saturday.

Kane ended a worrying international scoring drought by netting in the 2-0 last-16 defeat of Germany in midweek and put England ahead inside four minutes on a sweaty evening in Rome, Italy.

It was the only match of Euro 2020 that England had to play away from Wembley Stadium and it was the team’s most dominant performance of the tournament.

“I’ve said it all along it’s all about peaking for the right time,” Kane said. “We are on the right track.”

Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson also scored as England kept a clean sheet for the fifth straight match of the competition.

It marked the first time that England scored four goals in the knockout stage of a major tournament since beating West Germany 4-2 in the 1966 World Cup final.

England now goes back to London to face Denmark on Wednesday. The Danes beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in Baku.

“We haven’t done nothing yet,” Kane said. “We’ve got a semifinal at Wembley. ... What a moment for us as a team, as a nation. It’s there for us, it’s an opportunity for us. We have to grab it with both hands.”

Italy will face Spain in the other semifinal match Tuesday, with the final next weekend also to be played at Wembley.

The last time England made it to the last four of the European Championship was in 1996. But the bigger goal at this point is to duplicate the success of the 1966 England team that won the World Cup on home soil.

Kane scored on England’s first opportunity in the fourth minute, using one touch to redirect a through ball from Raheem Sterling for his second goal in as many matches. The ball went in off the shoulder of goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan inside the near post.

England also scored early in the second half after Kane was fouled about 10 seconds. A free kick from Luke Shaw set up a header from Maguire. Four minutes later, Kane got his second by heading in another cross from Shaw on a play that included a backheel pass from Sterling as England dazzled.

After failing to score in the group stage, Kane now has three goals in two matches after also scoring in the 2-0 win over Germany in the last 16.

“Sometimes as a striker it falls your way, sometimes it doesn’t,” Kane said. “That’s just part and parcel of being a striker.”

Kane won the Golden Boot with six goals at the 2018 World Cup, when England also reached the semifinals. He exited to a standing ovation at the Stadio Olimpico when he came off midway through the second half.

Ukraine coach Andriy Shevchenko, a former standout forward, appreciated how Kane took advantage of all of his opportunities.

“That’s all a striker has to do,” Shevchenko said.

(SD-Agencies)