Ukraine v England
UEFA European Qualifier
5pm BST, Saturday 9 September 2023
Tarczyński Arena, Wroclaw
Live on Channel 4

Gareth Southgate stressed England will have to be at ‘our very best’ if they are to beat Ukraine on Saturday night.

England have travelled to Poland to face Ukraine at the Tarczyński Arena in Wroclaw on Saturday for what will be the Three Lions’ fifth UEFA EURO 2024 qualifier.

Southgate’s men are top of Group C with 12 points from 12, with Ukraine second on six points but with a game in hand – their only defeat being the 2-0 loss to England in March.

So victory for the Three Lions would extend their lead at the top of the group to nine points, with Italy and North Macedonia currently on three points after two and three games respectively, whilst a win for Ukraine would see the gap close to three points, with Sergei Rebrov’s team still having a game in hand.

Former Tottenham forward Rebrov took charge of the country’s national team in June and one of the first questions Southgate was asked in his pre-match press conference was about the differences between the current Ukraine side and the one England beat 4-0 in the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO 2020.

“We feel that both teams were and are very dangerous,” Southgate said. “They have a lot of midfield players who are similar and they can control games really well through midfield. So, you have to be very well organised with your pressing.

“Of course, they have speed for counter-attacks as well so we know that the team that night and the team that we play against tomorrow have a huge threat.

“We dealt with that really well in the two previous games. But tomorrow is a different occasion and we have to do it again.”

He continued: “It is a difficult game for us. It is a team we respect a lot, there are some players who have played in England that we know and some of our players know them very well, and we know that we have to be at our very best to get the win.”

We're live in Wrocław as Gareth Southgate and skipper @HKane look ahead to tomorrow's game against Ukraine! 🎙️ https://t.co/FoE0F0jURE

— England (@England) September 8, 2023

Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, Everton’s Vitalii Mykolenko, former West Ham fan favourite Andriy Yarmolenko – now at Dynamo Kiev – and Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk are among those in the Ukraine squad.

And Harry Kane, who joined Southgate in the press conference, was asked whether he had spoken to any of the Ukraine players ahead of the game.

Kane said: “I don’t know them personally but I know a few of my other team-mates obviously play for their clubs. I've spoken to them and they are obviously good friends with them.

“We played them at Wembley and it was a really tough game. Some of the boys playing against familiar faces will maybe be a bit unusual, but from our point of view, it was about just trying to get another good result.

“Whether we have friends on the pitch or no friends on the pitch, we have a job to do and that's what we're trying to do tomorrow night.”

This is the first England camp since Kane made his move to Germany’s Bayern Munich, his first club overseas, and he was asked if there had been any major differences this time around.

He said: “I'm always excited to meet up with the boys and the only difference was I was flying back from the game on Saturday rather than driving back from somewhere.

“It's been great to see everyone again and I look forward to hopefully another good year leading up to the EURO in the summer.”

Touching down in Poland. 🛬🌅 pic.twitter.com/CyFBP6egEs

— England (@England) September 8, 2023

Ukraine in profile

Match Stats

● Ukraine have won just one of their nine games against England (D2 L6), winning 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying match in October 2009.

● England have kept six clean sheets in their nine meetings with the Ukraine, including each of their last three since a 1-1 draw in September 2012.

● Ukraine have won their last two matches, beating North Macedonia and Malta in June. They last won three games in a row in October and November 2019.

● England have won 21 of their last 22 European Championship qualifiers, the only exception in this run was a 2-1 defeat at Czechia in October 2019. They’ve also scored in each of their last 27 EURO qualifiers, netting 93 goals, since a goalless home draw with Montenegro in October 2010.

● Ukraine have only lost one of their last 13 European Championship qualifiers (W9 D3), although that one defeat did come away at England in March.

● Harry Kane has taken five penalties in his last five England appearances, scoring four and failing with one against France at the World Cup. He could become the first England player since Geoff Hurst in May 1969 to score a penalty in three consecutive England appearances.

● Kane has also scored in his last six international appearances for England, his third different run of scoring in six consecutive games for the Three Lions. The last player to score in more consecutive appearances was George Camsell between 1929 and 1936 (nine in a row).

● Bukayo Saka has been involved in nine goals in his last nine England appearances (seven goals, two assists), scoring a hat-trick against North Macedonia last time out. The Three Lions have won all eight games when Saka has scored and haven’t lost a game when an Arsenal player has scored since Francis Jeffers netted in a 3-1 defeat versus Australia in February 2003 (W24 D2 since).

Head to head

The Lionesses have met Ukraine on nine previous occasions over the years, with England enjoying six wins, sharing two draws and losing once. 

Our first game came back in May 2000, when the nations met in a friendly game at Wembley which ended in a 2-0 win for the Three Lions thanks to goals from Robbie Fowler and Tony Adams.

You can see details of our last four games below:-

England 2-0 Ukraine, 26 March 2023, Wembley Stadium

Ukraine 0-4 England, 3 July 2021, Olympic Stadium, Rome

Ukraine 0-0 England, 10 September 2013, Olympic Stadium, Kyiv 

England 1-1 Ukraine, 11 September 2012, Wembley Stadium

England Squad News

Ticket Information

 

How to watch or stream

Gareth Southgate has named his starting line-up for England's UEFA EURO 2024 qualifier with Ukraine in Poland.

There are four changes to the starting XI which beat North Macedonia 7-0, with injuries ruling out previous starters against Luke Shaw, Trent Alexander-Arnold and John Stones.

Ben Chilwell, Marc Guéhi and Jude Bellingham are all back in the side, whilst the in-form James Maddison replaces Marcus Rashford.

England: 1 Jordan Pickford (Everton), 2 Kyle Walker (Manchester City), 3 Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), 4 Declan Rice (Arsenal), 5 Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), 6 Harry Maguire (Manchester United), 7  Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), 8 Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq), 9 Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), 10 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), 11 James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur)

Substitutes: 12 Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), 13 Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), 14 Levi Colwill (Chelsea), 15 Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), 16 Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), 17 Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion), 18 Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), 19 Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), 20  Phil Foden (Manchester City), 21 Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), 22 Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), 23 Callum Wilson (Newcastle United)

Kyle Walker’s maiden England goal sealed a point for England in a tricky 1-1 draw against Ukraine in Wroclaw.

Oleksander Zinchenko put his country ahead 26 minutes in with England left frustrated at times, but a first-ever international strike for Walker saw Gareth Southgate’s side level at the break.

The likes of Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka came close for England in the second half, but the Three Lions were ultimately forced to settle for a draw against resilient Ukrainian opposition in front of a noisy and fervent crowd, despite the game being played in Poland.

England were dominant in possession in the opening 20 minutes with Ukraine rarely able to break out of their own half, but the Three Lions were unable to create any clear opportunities.

Ukraine did well to defensively frustrate England, with Saka’s low shot, blocked by Taras Stepanenko, perhaps the best chance early on.

After the 20-minute mark the home side did spark into life, and Zinchenko sent the Tarczynski Arena into raptures when he opened the scoring.

The Arsenal star darted into the box and was the first to reach Yukhym Konoplya’s cutback, slotting home to give Ukraine the lead.

England looked for an immediate response but Jordan Henderson could only blaze over the bar from the edge of the box, with the side unable to consistently break into the box.

But with just five minutes left before the break, it was Walker who broke through for England, after a stunning ball from Kane.

England’s captain sent a 30-yard-ball fired through to the Manchester City defender, who cut inside and slotted home for his first goal in 77 appearances for his country.

After a strong end to the first half the Three Lions nearly took the lead at the start of the second, though Bellingham was unable to get strong contact on a header from Henderson’s cross.

And Harry Maguire was also not too far away from putting England in front, his looped header from a free-kick sailing just over the bar.

But the best chance towards the start of second half came from Saka, who smacked the crossbar with a strong effort from the edge of the box as the hour mark approached.

Ukraine were by no means out of it, though, with some strong England defending required to shut them out whenever they were able to make their way into the box.

Despite his stunning assist for Walker, it was a largely quiet evening for Kane, and his best chance of the match saw him fire a low strike well wide of the Ukrainian goal.

Substitute Marcus Rashford was not too far away late on with a freekick that forced a punch away from Heorhiy Bushchan, who was then fouled by Maguire in the aftermath.

And that was England’s last chance of the evening, claiming a hard-fought point away from home.

England: 1. Jordan Pickford; 2. Kyle Walker, 5. Marc Guehi, 6. Harry Maguire, 3. Ben Chilwell; 10. Jude Bellingham, 4. Declan Rice, 8. Jordan Henderson; 7. Bukayo Saka 9. Harry Kane, 11. James Maddison

Substitutes: 19. Marcus Rashford for Maddison 66’, 20. Phil Foden for Bellingham 66’, 21. Conor Gallagher for Saka 87’

Substitutes not used: 12. Kieran Trippier, 13. Sam Johnstone, 14. Levi Colwill, 15. Fikayo Tomori, 16. Kalvin Phillips, 17. Lewis Dunk, 18. Eberechi Eze, 22. Aaron Ramsdale, 23. Callum Wilson

Goal: Walker 41’

Cautions: Maddison 34’, Maguire 86’

Ukraine: 1. Heorhiy Bushchan; 2. Yukhym Konoplya, 13. Illia Zabarnyi, 22. Mykola Matviyenko, 16. Vitalii Mykolenko; 6. Taras Stepanenko, 17. Oleksandr Zinchenko, 15. Viktor Tsyhankov, 8. Heorhiy Sudakov, 10. Mykhailo Mudryk; 9. Roman Yaremchuk

Substitutes: 4. Serhiy Kryvtsov for Matviyenko 45’, 11. Artem Dovbyk for Yaremchuk 65’, 5, Serhiy Sydorchuk for Sudakov 65’, 14. Vitaliy Buyalskyi for Zinchenko 76’, 20. Yehor Nazaryna for Mudryk 90’

Substitutes not used: 3. Bohdan Mykhaylichenko, 7. Andriy Yarmolenko, 12. Anatoliy Trubin, 18. Vladyslav Vanat, 19. Denys Popov, 21. Oleksandr Karavayev, 23. Andriy Lunin

Goals: Zinchenko 26’

Cautions: Stepanenko 22’, Yaremchuk 42’