England defeated by Ukraine in IFCPF EURO Final

England's cerebral palsy team were beaten 3-1 by Ukraine in the ICFPF EURO Final on Saturday evening.

Two years on from their defeat against Ukraine in the 2023 EURO Final in Italy, Andy Smith's Para Lions gave it everything on home soil in Loughborough to go one better and bring home the title.

And they pushed Ukraine all the way too, before two second-half goals sealed victory for the team who have proven to be the dominant force in cerebral palsy football in recent years.

England almost had a dream start too, when Sam Dewhirst's corner after just a minute picked out Harry Baker at the back post but his header on goal was well saved by Bahdan Kulynych.

But Ukraine soon began to find their rhythm and after forcing Giles Moore into a couple of saves, they edged ahead in the 12th minute when captain Vitaly Romanchuk fired home from close range after Anton Balakai's shot deflected fortunately into his path.

A deserved equaliser arrived in the 16th minute though, and it was a repeat of the earlier combination as Dewhirst's inswinging corner was met by Baker and this time he made no mistake by guiding home his header.

And the Para Lions almost edged ahead shortly after, as Kulynych was forced into quickfire saves to deny Mason Dunbar from close range and then Matt Crossen's curling effort in what was to be the captain's final appearance for England.

With the game into the second half, both teams continued to push each other all the way and go toe-to-toe in search of the victory.

It was England who continued to create the chances too, with Matt Robinson flashing an effort across goal in the early stages.

But it was Ukraine who edged ahead again in the 41st minute when Romanchuk's cross-shot was stabbed home on the line by Ivan Donenko, while England were left aggrieved as they were a man down due to an injury to Baker at the time.

England rallied and looked to find their way back into the game, but unfortunately it was Ukraine who scored a crucial third goal with time running out as Balakai slotted home after his first effort had crashed back off the bar.

With nine minutes of added time, England continued to press for a route back into the game with substitute James Blackwell denied by Kulynych before the Ukrainian 'keeper made another stunning save to tip over Porcher's shot.

But it wasn't to be for England as they were left to settle for a silver medal on home turf.

England: 1 Giles Moore, 2 Liam Irons, 3 Mason Dunbar, 5 Harry Baker, 6 Matt Crossen (c), 8 Sam Dewhirst, 14 Matthew Robinson

Substitutes: 7 James Blackwell for Baker 42, 12 Jayden Kenyon for Robinson 48, 9 David Porcher for Crossen 48

Substitutes not used: 13 Reagan McMillan, 4 Cailen Beckford, 10 Aaron Lucas, 11 Corey Komorowski

Head coach: Andy Smith