Euro 2024: England Welcomes Ukraine

England vs Ukraine

Ukraine opens its Euro 2024 qualification campaign at Wembley on Sunday against an England side which has already picked up its first win of the competition.

The two nations have become close friends over the past 12 months and this match will be a feel good event with plenty at stake.

They are united by war in Europe and, for music fans, the Eurovision Song Contest is being held in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine.

They met in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals and there is a huge amount of respect between the two countries, but neither will give an inch when both are aiming for positive Euro 2024 results here in the qualifiers.

This tournament could well be Gareth Southgate’s last chance to bring glory to the Three Lions, and he made a good start in this tournament as England come into the game on the back of a morale boosting 2-1 victory away to Italy on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Ruslan Rotan’s Ukraine’s last competitive match was a goalless draw at home to Scotland in the UEFA Nations League.

Wembley Stadium will be packed to the rafters on Sunday and, with the Euro 2024 betting odds strongly backing a home win, the vast majority of fans are set for a super Sunday.

Talking Points

King Kane is simply the best

He has recently become Tottenham Hotspur’s top scorer of all time, surpassing the great Jimmy Greaves, and now he is his country’s most prolific hit man.

Harry Kane started this round of qualifiers level with Wayne Rooney as England’s top scorer, and when the referee gave him the chance to double England’s lead against Italy, he laid the ghost of his horror spot-kick miss against France in the World Cup as he fired his penalty high and to the left of the diving Gianluigi Donnarumma.

He could already have broken the record but Declan Rice opened the scoring for England, rifling in the rebound after Kane’s 13^th minute shot was blocked.

Things aren’t going so well back at Spurs where head coach Antonio Conte seems to be bouncing around in frustration, and the boss is not holding back with his criticism of players and even fans. But Kane is as reliable as it comes for both club and country and he will be the biggest goal threat against Ukraine on Sunday.

The other player the visitors will be most wary of is Borussia Dortmund’s 19-year-old star Jude Bellingham, who is growing in stature every time he crosses the white line. His speed of movement and thought make him the ideal box-to-box midfielder, and he has strength and vision beyond his years. Bellingham is star quality.

England will make at least one change as wing-back Luke Shaw picked up a red card and is likely to be replaced by the experienced Kieran Trippier.

Zinchenko is Ukraine’s jewel

Captained by former West Ham winger Andriy Yarmolenko, who now plays for Al Ain in the UAE Pro league, Ukraine has a tightly knitted squad with no little quality and plenty of big match experience.

SBOTOP fans will recognise some other Premier League stars who will not be fazed by the thought of facing England’s finest. The versatile Oleksandr Zinchenko has been a key player in Arsenal’s superb title chasing season and he will play in a midfield role to give Bellingham another serious test.

Zinchenko is the focal point of much of Ukraine’s play and he has the calmness and ingenuity to dictate the pace of play and find the killer pass.

Look out too for Everton’s 23-year-old wing-back Vitaliy Mykolenko, who has 24 caps, and Marseille’s creative midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi, who can both provide supply for Club Brugge striker Roman Yaremchuk who will lead the line.

Yaremchuk he has 13 goals from 42 games, which is a decent return.

History

The Three Lions have had the better of the head-to-heads with four wins to Ukraine’s one, and there have been two draws.

They last met in the Euro 2020 European Championships as England ran out 4-0 winners on their way to the final as Kane plundered a double.

The form guide reveals two teams in decent shape with England winning four, drawing one, and losing one of the last six games, while Ukraine have won three, drawn two, and lost one.

Betting Tip

At 1.27 to win, the Three Lions are set to make it two wins from two.

With the draw at 5.22 and a Ukraine win at 7.14, a setback for the hosts isn’t out of the question, but I think they will have enough to see off their dangerous visitors and I’m hoping for goals at both ends.

 

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