England are ready to take on Ukraine at Wembley Stadium to play their 2nd game in the Euro Qualifiers. After a dominant performance against Italy, the Southgate boys are feeling very pumped up. They defeated Italy for the first time in 62 years in Italy. However, Ukraine will play their first match in Group C today.
England skipper Harry Kane became the top scorer of England after scoring from the spot kick against Italy. He broke Rooney’s record of 53 goals and now stands at the top.
Team News
In-form defender Luke Shaw was booked a red card during the match against Italy. Therefore, he will miss tonight’s clash, and Ben Chilwell should replace him. Reece James has been struggling with an injury. Although he recovered and played for a few minutes, the right-back got a knock once again. He is unavailable for the match against Ukraine.
Moreover, England’s high-rated top young talent Jude Bellingham is in doubt ahead of tonight’s clash. Jordan Henderson or Conor Gallagher will replace him if he misses the match.
Like England, Ukraine will also miss some players due to injuries. Bournemouth center-back Ilya Zabarnyi is still injured along with midfielder Oleksandr Zubkov. This season, Oleksandr Zinchenko has suffered a number of injuries at Arsenal. But he is fit for tonight’s match for Ukraine. Chelsea’s Mykhaylo Mudryk should also be handed a start at Wembley.
The Possible Lineup for England:
Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell; Henderson, Phillips, Rice; Saka, Kane, Foden
The Possible Lineup for Ukraine:
Lunin; Konoplya, Matvienko, Popov, Mykolenko; Malinovskyi, Stepanenko, Zinchenko; Tsygankov, Dovbyk, Mudryk
Southgate’s Thoughts
England manager Gareth Southgate talked about Ukraine in his pre-match press conference. The manager said, “They are very proud. We saw that at the beginning of the war when they went to Scotland at the beginning in the [World Cup] play-offs and Wales.”
“They are a very proud group of players, you can see that they are totally committed to bringing enjoyment to their public. We of course have huge sympathy with what is going on, [Sunday] is a game of football and we are fully focused on the game.”
What has Zinchenko said?
After what he describes as a “nightmare” year for his country, Zinchenko says he will always be grateful for the support shown by his teammates and the entire UK. He 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.”
Betfair Odds
England: 1.22
Draw: 6.00
Ukraine: 12.00
