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The midfielder has now earned three senior caps while making a believer out of the U.S. head coach

U.S. men's national team boss Gregg Berhalter said he did not believe how good Gianluca Busio was until he got the midfielder in camp, despite consistent praise from Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes.

Vermes recently spoke to Goal about Busio's potential, likening the midfielder's game to Italian legend Andrea Pirlo.

And, as Busio looks set to move to Serie A side Venezia in a multi-million dollar transfer, Berhalter says he's now a believer after the teenager earned his third USMNT cap in a 1-0 win against Canada in the Gold Cup on Sunday.

"Peter's been singing his praises for the last couple of years and I didn't really know what he was about until I started working with him," Berhalter said after the USMNT's 1-0 win over Canada in their Gold Cup group stage finale. "When I see this kid in training and games, he is special.

"For him to deal with the game like he did and play the way he did, it shows a lot about his quality. I thought, in the beginning of the game, he was excellent in his position. Again, we asked him to have a complicated role moving up in offense and down in defense and he was able to understand it, grasp it and perform well."

Busio wasn't the only youngster to earn the praise from Berhalter after what ended up as a fairly ugly 1-0 win over Canada.

He also discussed the rise of Miles Robinson and James Sands, both of whom shined after captain Walker Zimmerman went down with an injury.

Robinson is seen as a player that could play his way into the World Cup qualifying squad, and Berhalter acknowledged that the Atlanta United defender has leveled up in recent days.

"When you have speed like he does,it makes it so much easier on your group, whether that's stepping in or it's recovering behind you," Berhalter said. "He had a number of one-v-one duels, I think of one in thesecond half against [Tajon] Buchanan, who is a really good player, and he handled it well.

"Miles has taken the next step and now it's about in knockout games, can he recover now and then, in a knockout game, can you repeat that same type of performance?"

Sands, meanwhile, shined in a unique role that saw him step into the midfield in possession.

The NYCFC youngster has shown that he has plenty of ability on the ball, and Berhalter believes there's more to come from Sands in the weeks and years to come.

"with James, I really liked him movingup into midfield," Berhalter said. "He gave us a numerical advantage and we're happy with it. I think at times it worked really well.

"James, in the first 20 minutes was, I think, one of the best players in the field. He dominatedthe game stepping forward, winning the ball, really calm on the ball, and then as it went, like most of the team, it was hard to sustain that level."

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USMNT boss Berhalter: I didn't believe how good Busio was until I started working with him - Goal.com

England's captain Harry Kane broke his goalscoring drought as England overcame Germany 2-0 in the Euro 2020 round of 16 at Wembley.

England eventually made the breakthrough when substitute Jack Grealish fired the ball into the feet of Harry Kane who passed outwards to Luke Shaw.

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The hosts then doubled their lead with four minutes of time to go, as Grealish crossed to find the head of Kane. The Tottenham Hotspur striker headed into the net past a helpless Manuel Neuer.

England's captain Harry Kane missed a golden opportunity in the final seconds of the first half when the ball bounced kindly to him in the Germany box. A poor first touch allowed the German defense to clear.

The second half started in the same manner before Sterling scored allowing England to control the game.

Speaking to the BBC after the game, goalscorer Sterling said: "We knew we needed to put a big performance in against a good side and we did that today.

"Doing it for your country will always be special and it is a special moment for me."

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England finally beat Germany in a major tournament knockout game after a 55-year wait, moving on to the Euro 2 - Business Insider India

LONDONThe brutal efficiency, the defensive rigor, the cold-eyed finishes. England had seen them all over decades of heartbreaking clashes with Germany. And it knew that Tuesdays Euro 2020 knockout game against its historically punishing opponent would only bring more.

What the Three Lions couldnt predictbecauseyears of frustration had taught them not towas that all those killer qualities would belong to England for a night.

In its most significant victory since the 1966 World Cup final, England not only beat Germany 2-0 to cap a wild 72 hours of tournament soccer. It also opened up the most promising path to the Wembley Stadium final of any team left in the Euros.

Englands road now runs through Ukraine, in Saturdays quarterfinal, and then the winner of Denmark vs. Czech Republic. The other half of the draw, meanwhile, still contains Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, all ranked in the top 13 teams in the world.

Englands players resisted the urge to get carried away. Forty-five thousand fans were inside Wembley Stadium on Tuesday to do that for them. They had stewed over defeats to Germany at Euro 1996 and the 1990 and 2010 World Cups. Entire generations of England supporters had come and gone without experiencing a single knockout-round win over their bitter rival.

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England Opens a Lane to the Euro 2020 Final - The Wall Street Journal

If Euro 2020 has taught us anything about football, it's that you cannot take anything for granted and on any given day anyone can beat anyone.

Prior to the Round of 16 commencing, we knew the tournament would lose two big guns. Portugal or Belgium and England or Germany would exit before the quarter-finals.

The reality has proved somewhat harsher for the favourites with soon-to-be-dethroned European champions, Portugal; reigning world champions, France; big-hitters Germany and Netherlands all eliminated.

The infamous Group F has no survivors, and you would have needed some crystal ball to foresee that.

Of the big movers, Belgium, Denmark, Spain and England were impressive.

Denmark are undoubtedly the story of the tournament so far. Having overcome the worst of days in their opening clash with Finland, they have grown and have built up some serious momentum in this tournament.

Their game against Wales was one of the tougher ones to call, but they completely dismantled Rob Pages side, as Kasper Dolberg, another player 'unproven at this level, took the game by the scruff of its neck after he got the nod to start in place of the injured Yussuf Poulsen.

The former Ajax striker became Denmarks second ever player to score twice in a knockout game at the Euros, since Henrik Larsen netted two against Netherlands in 1992. That year! And youd have to wonder

First though, before any such talk of another unlikely title win should start to snowball, they must advance past the Czech Republic, the side that eliminated Netherlands, in what was probably the first genuine shock of the tournament.

Despite having dominated the game, the Netherlands looked lost after going down to 10.

The meeting of Belgium and Portugal was destined to be decided by a moment of magic or a seismic error and in the end, it was a little bit of both as Thorgen Hazard sent the holders packing.

The Italians were perhaps the team that didnt quite live up to their fanfare billing in their 2-1 victory over Austria, and will undoubtedly face their toughest opponent of the tournament so far in Belgium, even though Roberto Martinez may well be without Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne.

If The Bangles had written Manic Monday about any day, it might have been the one jut gone as Spain and Switzerland advanced in drama-filled encounters that went to extra-time, the Swiss prevailing on penalties.

This Swiss team have a history with penalties.

I was working with Northern Ireland on that fateful November World Cup play-off night in 2017, when they were inexplicably awarded a penalty after the ball hit Corry Evans back. Ricardo Rodriguez scored in Belfast that night, but missed his spotter this night, when he could have put his side 2-0 up.

Instead, within two minutes, France were level as Benzema got on the end of Mbappes ball. When Les Bleus went 3-1 up, that appeared to be that, but the Swiss never gave up and fully deserved the victory.

England v Germany wasnt the open carnage of the Monday, but more tactical shadow-boxing, great to watch in its own right.

As it turned out, Gareth Southgates charges played a tense, cleverly-balanced game, matching up the German three-at-the-back system, nullifying the effectiveness of Kimmich and Gosens in the wide areas.

It was a win they deserved and earned, and they too now have a bit of momentum heading into their last-eight clash with Ukraine, another clash no-one foresaw. Least of all Sweden.

After what weve seen so far, youd be hard-pressed to predict what will come next.

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Knockout drama will have quarter-finalists on edge - RTE.ie

Euro 2020 has already been hailed as one of the most exciting international football tournaments in recent years, with the first knockout stage especially providing game after game of ecstasy and heartbreak.

Whether it was the favourites. France, being knocked out on penalties, or England finally overcoming Germany in a knockout match, the delayed tournament will already be remembered fondly by many fans.

But theres still time for more upsets and drama, with seven games to play, starting with the quarter-finals.

The games are to be played this Friday and Saturday. Heres a look at the fixtures.

Friday 2 July, 6 pm CEST, St Petersburg

Switzerland caused probably the biggest upset of the tournament so far in knocking out World champions France on penalties. They looked down and out, losing 3-1 until late into the second half of the round of 16 match. But two goals in the final 10 minutes took the game to extra time, and then they won on penalties.

They will take on a Spain side that also saw a 3-1 lead slip in their first knockout game. Two extra-time goals saw them finally beat Croatia in a game marked by a terrible error from the Spanish keeper Unai Simon, for which he atoned with a number of important saves.

Friday 2 July, 9 pm CEST, Munich

Two of Europes heavyweights will meet in Munich on Friday.

They both won their three group stage games, before making it past tricky opponents in the round of 16, Belgium beating current European champions Portugal, and Italy seeing off Austria.

Saturday 3 July, 6 pm CEST, Baku

If the other round of 16 games were marked by late goals and high drama, Czech Republic and Denmarks victories were outliers, in that they were simply superior displays over somewhat disorganised opposition in Netherlands and Wales respectively.

Denmark scraped through the group stages having won just once, losing twice, but their knockout match against Wales was highly convincing. The Czech Republic for their part won just once in the group stages, against Scotland, but looked energetic and confident against the Netherlands in the round of 16.

Saturday 3 July, 9 pm CEST, Rome

Ukraines last-gasp winner against Sweden on Tuesday night was a historical moment for the football team, which had previously never won a knockout match in the European Championships.

England have historically underperformed at the Euros, having only managed to win a knockout match once before. They got their second on Tuesday, ending a 55-year wait to beat old rivals Germany in a knockout game. Captain Harry Kane got on the scoresheet, and the team are yet to concede this tournament.

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Euro 2020: Who is in the quarter-finals and how did they get there? - Euronews