ENGLAND will be looking to complete a perfect start to Euro 2024 qualifying with another win as they take on Ukraine today at Wembley.Captain Harry Kane broke the Three Lions goal-scoring record in England’s huge 2-1 win over Italy in midweek, and he’ll be hoping to celebrate in style today.
One interesting bit of team news is James Maddison is making his first start for Gareth Southgate’s side today, while Phil Foden misses out after having his appendix surgically removed.
Start time: 5pm BST
TV/Live stream: Channel 4/All 4
England XI: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell, Rice, Henderson, Bellingham, Saka, Maddison, Kane
Ukraine XI: Trubin; Karavaev, Svatok, Matviyenko, Mykolenko; Sudakov, Stepanenko, Zinchenko; Malinovskyi, Mudryk, Yaremchuk.
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5 England 0-0 Ukraine
Absolute madness in the away end with Ukrainian fans passionately chanting and singing for their lads.
And Rotan’s players are listening as they control possession as well as tempo early on.
4 England 0-0 Ukraine
And here’s Ukraine’s line-up:
Ukraine manager Ruslan Rotan appears to have opted for a 4-3-3 formation as well.
Anatoliy Trubin starts in goal with Oleksandr Karavayev at right-back and Vitalii Mykolenko on the other side, while Oleksandr Svatok and Mykola Matviyenko team up at centre-back.
Heorhiy Sudakov, Taras Stepanenko and captain Oleksandr Zinchenko link up in midfield.
Ruslan Malinovskyi, Mykhailo Mudryk and Roman Yaremchuk lead the attack.
3 England 0-0 Ukraine
Malinovskyi is thankfully back up to his feet.
Let’s look back at the line-ups:
England manager Gareth Southgate appears to have opted for a 4-3-3 formation against Ukraine.
Jordan Pickford starts in goal with Kyle Walker at right-back and Ben Chilwell on the other side, while Harry Maguire and John Stones team up at centre-back.
Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice link up in midfield.
Bukayo Saka, James Maddison and captain Harry Kane spearhead the attack.
2 England 0-0 Ukraine
Ouch!
Malinovskyi picks up a head injury after bumping heads with Maddison in the air.
Ukraine’s medical team has entered the pitch
1 England 0-0 Ukraine
Ukraine’s national anthem thundered across Wembley before kick-off.
There was also a minute’s silence for England’s late World Cup hero George Cohen.
England 0-0 Ukraine
Peep!
Off we go at Wembley!!!
Here come the teams
Wembley is ready for this big and emotional Euro 2024 qualifier between England and Ukraine.
Three Lions captain and record goalscorer Harry Kane leads his team-mates out to the pitch.
Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko dons his nation’s esteemed armband in a familiar ground for the ex-Manchester City ace.
Kane will be awarded for his record-breaking goal that saw him surpass Wayne Rooney as top England scorer.
Jack Leslie’s family will also be presented with a posthumous honorary cap.
Leslie earned a deserved call-up back in 1925 but faced adversity because of the colour of his skin, and so he was deselected and never played for his country.
Credit: AP
Refugees welcome
Ukraine will get a feeling of home after over a year since Russia’s illegal invasion.
More than 3,000 tickets have been sold in the away end for Ukrainians living in the Uk.
The FA have also donated a further 1,000 to refugees, who fled the horrors of Valdimir Putin’s inhumane war.
Manager Ruslan Rotan wants his players to offer a shot of hope for those in the stands with family suffering back home, and those watching from afar.
Credit: AP
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Ukraine subs
Here’s who Ukraine boss Ruslan Rotan opted for his bench:
Miroshnichenko, Bondarenko, Dovbyk, Lunin, Sarapyi, Pikhalyonok, Buyalsky, Sobol, Sydorchuk, Tsygankov, Shevchenko, Konoplyanka
England subs
Here’s who England manager Gareth Southgate chose for the bench:
Ramsdale, Forster, Trippier, Dier, Guehi, Grealish, Phillips, Gallagher, Toney
Ukraine formation
Ukraine manager Ruslan Rotan appears to have opted for a 4-3-3 formation as well.
Anatoliy Trubin starts in goal with Oleksandr Karavayev at right-back and Vitalii Mykolenko on the other side, while Oleksandr Svatok and Mykola Matviyenko team up at centre-back.
Heorhiy Sudakov, Taras Stepanenko and captain Oleksandr Zinchenko link up in midfield.
Ruslan Malinovskyi, Mykhailo Mudryk and Roman Yaremchuk lead the attack
England formation
England manager Gareth Southgate appears to have opted for a 4-3-3 formation against Ukraine.
Jordan Pickford starts in goal with Kyle Walker at right-back and Ben Chilwell on the other side, while Harry Maguire and John Stones team up at centre-back.
Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice link up in midfield.
Bukayo Saka, James Maddison and captain Harry Kane spearhead the attack.
Record-breaking Kane
Harry Kane has confirmed that he has received messages of congratulations from the likes of David Beckham and Tom Brady after becoming England’s all-time record goalscorer.
The captain will be presented with an award ahead of kick-off and he will be joined on the Wembley pitch by his wife and children.
Kane netted his 54th goal in his 81st England appearance to move ahead of Wayne Rooney in the standings.
Credit: Getty
Battle in Group C
England will look to move three points clear at the top of Group C with a win this evening against Ukraine.
Later on tonight, Italy face Malta with Roberto Mancini’s men the heavy favourites to win.
North Macedonia are the fifth team in the group and they sit joint-top with England after beating Malta 2-1 last Thursday.
This will be Ukraine’s first game in their Euro 2024 qualification campaign.
Chat with the PM
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has heaped praise on England record goalscorer Harry Kane – hailing him as an “all-time great”.
The striker, 29, received the congratulatory video call from the PM after bagging his 54th international goal against Italy.
Sunak said to Kane: “Massive congratulations – for what you have achieved personally, that you are the all time great.
“You’re a phenomenal captain, a phenomenal role model, and the entire country is very proud of you and lucky to have you.”
The Spurs man – who will be looking to extend his record against Ukraine tonight – replied: “It has not truly sunk in yet… but it was a special night.
“I love playing for my country so much, I want to represent it in the best way.”
Last time they met
England have not played Ukraine since hammering them 4-0 in the Euro 2020 quarter-final in Rome.
A Harry Kane brace plus efforts from Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson fired the Three Lions into the semi-finals.
Ukraine have failed to beat England in their last four attempts, with their last victory back in 2009 when they won 1-0 and goalkeeper Robert Green was sent off.
Ukraine starting XI
Ukraine have named three Premier League players in their starting XI to face England.
Chelsea’s big money signing Mykhailo Mudryk starts alongside Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko and Everton full-back Vitalii Mykolenko.
England starting XI
Here is how England line-up to face Ukraine.
Harry Kane wears the captain’s armband.
Ben Chilwell, Jordan Henderson and James Maddison all start.
England to pay respects to Ukraine
Gareth Southgate has warned his England stars there is no room for sentiment against war-torn Ukraine at Wembley today.
The manager said: “We all want to pay our respects and show our support — and that’s important.
“But as soon as they enter the competition, they want to go through and it’s game on. So in a football sense we need to do what we need to do to win the game.”
“I would be worried if our players don’t have that same level of motivation Ukraine have.
“Our job is to qualify, to represent our country with the pride that Ukraine are going to represent their country with.
“We’ve got to make sure our level of motivation and focus is what it was before the game in Italy. We had a lot of drive for that.
“Because we were still smarting from the World Cup, we were smarting from previous games against Italy. Now, three days later, we’ve got to get back to that start point.”
Maddison set to start
James Maddison is expected to make his first start for England this evening.
The Leicester midfielder, 26, made his international debut in a Euro 2020 qualifying match against Montenegro in 2019.
But he has not played for the national team since despite being named in the squad for the World Cup at the end of last year.
With Phil Foden out, it becomes likely that Maddison will take his place.
Chelsea full-back Ben Chilwell is also expected to be named on the teamsheet following Luke Shaw’s recent red card.
BREAKING: Foden out due to surgery
Phil Foden is out of the England squad to face Ukraine with injury.
The Manchester City star underwent emergency surgery this morning to remove his appendix.
An England statement read: “Phil Foden has been ruled out of this evening’s Uefa Euro 2024 qualifier with Ukraine following surgery to remove his appendix this morning.
“England manager Gareth Southgate has not called up a replacement, meaning he has 20 players to choose from after the earlier withdrawal of Reece James and Luke Shaw’s suspension.”
Foden, 22, was involved in training over the last few days and was in contention to play before he began to feel unwell.
It has been an international week to forget for him after he was subbed on and then taken off against Italy – lasting just 12 minutes before being sacrificed for Kieran Trippier after Luke Shaw’s red card.
Kane’s special boots
England captain Harry Kane will wear special boots to celebrate him becoming the country’s all-time top goalscorer.
The number 54 is printed on them to represent how many goals he has scored in a Three Lions shirt.
Phrases such as “all time top scorer” and “captain” can be seen, along with several small England flags.
Most notably of all though is the wonderful tribute Kane, 29, leaves for his three kids.
Their names – “Vivi”, which is short for Vivienne, “Ivy” and “Louis” are visible in small black letters on the sides of the boots.
Their dates of birth are also visible alongside their name.
Credit: getty
Southgate defends Rashford withdrawal
Gareth Southgate has defended Marcus Rashford jetting off to New York after pulling out of the England squad
Three Lions boss Southgate was surprised to see Rashford posting pictures on a mini-break following his withdrawal from the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine with a toe problem.
But diplomatic Southgate said: “Once he’s ruled out of the squad, it’s entirely up to him how he spends his time.
“The players don’t get a lot of breaks. They will be flying off wherever after Sunday’s game.
“If they get 48 hours, with the schedule as it is, they have to take advantage of it.”
Rashford’s holiday is not a great look because the Manchester United forward, 25, has now pulled out of five of the last six non-tournament squads he has been picked for.
Friendships aside
Ukraine star Oleksandr Zinchenko is ready to put his friendships with a number of players from the England team aside for this evening’s game.
The Arsenal defender is set to battle it out with club team-mate Bukayo Saka and potentially run into a few old pals from his former club Manchester City.
Zinchenko said: “I love them all so much, but unfortunately on the pitch there are no friends, so let’s see what is going to happen.
“Bukayo has not given me the line-up yet, but I am going to push as much as I can.”
“I got a lot of support from all of them [team-mates], for which I am so grateful.
“I would like to also say a massive thanks to all of the UK for all of the help and support for all of us Ukrainians, for the country, our people, all of the refugees who are living here.
“It is so important for us. Without your support, it would be so difficult and tough. We really appreciate it.”
Credit: PA
England vs Ukraine
England are looking to make it two wins from two games as they take on Ukraine at Wembley Stadium.
Gareth Southgate’s men won away at Italy 2-1 on Thursday night thanks to goals from Declan Rice and Harry Kane, getting the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign off to the perfect start.
The Three Lions are expected to name a strong starting XI for this evening’s game with few players to choose from amid an injury crisis.
Reece James, Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount all pulled out from the squad and were not replaced. Meanwhile, there are fitness doubts over Jordan Henderson, Jude Bellingham and Kalvin Phillips, but all three are expected to be fit.
Luke Shaw is suspended having been shown at red card in Naples last week.
Credit: Getty
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