ENGLAND are starting with Harry Maguire and Marc Guehi at the heart of defence against Ukraine.
Arguably the world’s most in-form star Jude Bellingham also gets the nod in midfield with Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson.
Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and James Maddison lead the front three for England.
England have a 100 per cent record from Euro 2024 qualifying Group C so far and a win in Wroclaw will help Gareth Southgate’s side put one foot into the tournament in Germany next summer.
- Kick-off time: 5pm UK
- TV channel: Channel 4
- Live stream: All 4
- Ukraine team: Bushchan, Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Mykolenko, Matviienko, Stepanenko, Zinchenko, Tsygankov, Mudryk, Sudakov, Yaremchuk.
- England team: Pickford, Walker, Guehi, Maguire, Chilwell, Rice, Henderson, Bellingham, Maddison, Saka, Kane.
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Stay up to date with all the latest from Wroclaw in our live blog…
Ukraine 0 England 0
6. Saka goes down yelping in pain after Mykolenko knees him in the thigh down on the right wing.
The referee awards a free-kick and fortunately the Arsenal man is able to get back on his feet and carry on.
Credit: Getty All in red
The England boys certainly looked the part as they posed for a team photo before kick off.
Ukraine 0 England 0
4. It’s been all England possession so far and they’ve just nearly created their first opening.
Jude Bellingham collected the ball and pushed forward, threading it between the full-back and centre-half for Bukayo Saka.
But there was just a little too much on it for the Arsenal man as the ball ran out of play.
Ukraine 0 England 0
England, who are wearing all red, get the Euro 2024 qualifier underway.
And the Ukraine XI
Chelsea attacker Mykhailo Mudryk, Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko and Everton defender Vitalii Mykolenko are all in the starting XI.
Here’s the Ukraine team news in full:
Ukraine XI: Bushchan, Konoplya, Matviienko, Mudryk, Mykolenko, Stepanenko, Sudakov, Tsygankov, Yaremchuk, Zabarnyi, Zinchenko.
Subs: Trubin, Lunin, Mykhailichenko, Kryvtsov, Sydorchuk, Yarmolenko, Dovbyk, Buyalskyi, Vanat, Popov, Nazaryna, Karavaiev.
England XI
In case you missed it earlier, here’s how England are starting.
Boss Gareth Southgate has made four changes to the team that beat North Macedonia 7-0 last time out in June.
England XI: Pickford, Walker, Maguire, Guehi, Chilwell, Rice, Bellingham, Maddison, Henderson, Saka, Kane.
Subs: Trippier, Johnstone, Colwill, Tomori, Phillips, Dunk, Eze, Rashford, Foden, Gallagher, Ramsdale, Wilson.
Anthems underway
The teams are out and the national anthems are underway.
Just seconds to go until kick-off!
‘Grab the jersey’
Former England defender Matt Upson believes the decision to select Harry Maguire was the right one by Gareth Southgate.
He told BBC BBC Radio 5 LIve: “It’s a sensible pairing [Harry Maguire and Marc Guehi], given the fact there is no John Stones.
“It makes sense that he has experience in Maguire and it seems that Guehi is probably next in line.
“These younger players or less experienced players need to grab the jersey.”
Tick tock, tick tock…
Opportunity knocks…
It has not quite clicked yet on the pitch for this man since his big-money move to Chelsea in January.
But Mykhailo Mudryk will be desperate to show everybody in England what he is capable of today.
Credit: Rex Warming up
The England boys are getting their stretches in as the crowd continues to pile in through the turnstiles.
Just 20 minutes to go until their Euro 2024 qualifier with Ukraine gets underway.
Credit: Getty Crowd-pleaser
The ground is filling up nicely ahead of kick off.
Here’s what Gareth Southgate had to say on what he expects his team to face from the stands:
GOAL MACHINE
England captain Harry Kane will be looking to extend his record goal tally for his country this afternoon.
The new Bayern Munich striker has scored 58 times in 84 caps for the Three Lions.
Credit: Getty UKRAINE TEAM NEWS
Manager Serhiy Rebrov has made five changes to the team that defeated Malta 1-0 in their last match in June.
Chelsea attacker Mykhailo Mudryk, Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko and Everton defender Vitalii Mykolenko are all brought into the starting XI.
Forward Roman Yaremchuk also gets the nod to start while goalkeeper Heorhiy Bushchan is included.
Here’s the Ukraine team news in full:
Ukraine XI: Bushchan, Konoplya, Matviienko, Mudryk, Mykolenko, Stepanenko, Sudakov, Tsygankov, Yaremchuk, Zabarnyi, Zinchenko.
Subs: Trubin, Lunin, Mykhailichenko, Kryvtsov, Sydorchuk, Yarmolenko, Dovbyk, Buyalskyi, Vanat, Popov, Nazaryna, Karavaiev.
Credit: Rex AND THE SUBS
Should things not go to plan for Southgate, then he has a star-studded bench to call upon.
Here are the England substitutes: Kieran Trippier, Sam Johnstone, Levi Colwill, Fikayo Tomori, Kalvin Phillips, Lewis Dunk, Eberechi Eze, Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden, Conor Gallagher, Aaron Ramsdale, Callum Wilson.
ENGLAND LINE-UP
Both Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson start.
Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi will partner Maguire in central defence while Henderson will line-up alongside Declan Rice in the middle.
Captain Harry Kane leads the line with in-form Real Madrid ace Jude Bellingham offering him support with James Maddison and Bukayo Saka.
TEAM NEWS
And Henderson has been picked!
Here’s the England team to face Ukraine this afternoon:
HEND THE RULES
Ex-Liverpool star Jordan Henderson has been heavily criticised following his move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq.
A number of reports suggest that the midfielder could be booed by some LGBTQ+ supporters in Wroclaw if he plays.
However, Gareth Southgate is adamant that has had zero impact on him deciding whether to select him or not.
He said: “I don’t pick the team based on external reaction.
“I think Jordan expressed himself this week that he’d be sad if that’s how they felt. His feeling towards that community hasn’t changed.
“I understand some of the comments that have been, and I respect the comments that have been made.
“But I think what’s also been said is that they’re going to get behind the team when we play, and I am sure they’ll get behind Jordan when the game starts as well.”
Credit: Rex ZIN IT TO WIN IT
A host of Ukraine supporters are already inside the ground.
There are believed to be around 300,000 Ukrainians living in the Wroclaw region now following Russia’s invasion of their homeland last year.
And Arsenal’s Ukrainian full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko spoke pre-match about how he hopes to see a sea of blue and yellow when they take on England.
He said: “I know some friends living here since the invasion and the feedback is that Polish people are helping as much as they can.
“I’m expecting a full stadium of blue and yellow because I know a lot of Ukrainians are living here, of course it will be an amazing atmosphere and I’m expecting a good game as well, both teams play good football.
“It is impossible to say that it is going to be the same atmosphere as when we play in Ukraine, because when you play in Ukraine even the air is different.
“I can’t wait until this time we will be (back playing in Ukraine) because all of us are just dreaming about it.”
THREE LIONS ARRIVE
We are just over one hour away from England’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine getting underway.
The Three Lions are looking to take another huge step towards securing their spot in Germany by continuing their 100 per cent record in Group C.
Gareth Southgate’s men have arrived at the Stadion Wroclaw in Poland and have already been out inspecting the pitch.
Credit: Reuters
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
