Ukraine 1-1 England (Zinchenko 26′ | Walker 41′)
England maintained their unbeaten Euro 2024 qualifying campaign record but could only draw against a spirited Ukraine side in the Polish city of Wroclaw.
Despite the result, the Three Lions remain firm favourites to reach the tournament next summer as they sit six points clear of Ukraine in Group C and 10 ahead of Italy, albeit having played three games more.
A strong start to the campaign had given Gareth Southgate some scope to experiment, with James Maddison rewarded for his fine form for Tottenham and man of the moment Jude Bellingham named in the front three.
Southgate leaned on some experienced heads too, with Harry Maguire picked despite playing just 23 minutes of football for Manchester United, and Jordan Henderson selected in midfield.
It was a show of faith from the England boss given the criticism that Henderson has faced after denying his move to Saudi Arabia was motivated by money.
There was a strong Premier League connection in the Ukraine side with Arsenal’s Oleksandar Zinchenko in midfield, Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko and Bournemouth’s Illya Zabarnyi in defence and Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk in attack, while one-time Tottenham and West Ham striker Serhiy Rebrov prowled the touchline.
And it was Zinchenko, playing in a more advanced position than he normally does for his club, who opened the scoring with an accurate finish from Yukhym Konoplya’s cut-back after a well-worked team goal.
Zinchenko has only netted three times in 164 games in English football, but has been far more prolific for his country with a strike rate of nine in 54 caps.
For all of their possession, England struggled to create clearcut chances until Harry Kane fashioned something out of nothing with an exquisite long-range pass for Kyle Walker to run onto and score his first international goal in his 77th game.
The game sparks into life as Ukraine take the lead
— Channel 4 Sport (@C4Sport) September 9, 2023#C4Football | #ThreeLions | #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/yp24RTkF1m
Kane almost registered his second assist of the night just before the hour mark but Bukayo Saka’s thunderous effort from his pass smashed the crossbar after a superb touch from goalkeeper Heorhiy Bushchan.
Saka, who was named England’s Player of the Year for the second year running last week, was growing in influence and had a strong penalty appeal turned down after his shot was blocked by Serhiy Kryvtsov’s arm. It was checked by VAR, but the defender was surprisingly given the benefit of the doubt.
Jude Bellingham started the game with the kind of confidence one might expect from someone with five goals in his first four games as a Real Madrid player but was substituted, along with Maddison, with 25 minutes remaining, with Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford introduced.
It was a frustrating evening for the 20-year-old, who predominantly played from the left wing, and finding a place for him in his starting line-up remains a priority for Southgate ahead of next summer.
England remained sloppy after the changes, though, and had Ukraine possessed greater quality in the final third they might have been punished.
Mudryk was a willing runner but found Walker impossible to burst away from, eventually cramping up after one burst too many.
Bushchan had a quieter evening than he was probably expecting but he had to be alert to paw away a Rashford free-kick and brave to thwart Maguire as he slid in to try and score.
Despite ending the game with 68 per cent possession and restricting Ukraine to only two shots, it was a flat and unconvincing England performance, and one in which Southgate will have learned little from his tactical selections in attack.
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