England will look to extend their European Championship to another round when they take on Ukraine this weekend at the Stadio Olimpico in the Italian capital.
Venue: Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
Key Statistics
Ukraine have won just four of their last ten games (D4, L2)
They kept just two clean sheets in those ten games and failed to score on only one occasion
England are yet to concede a goal in this year’s European Championship
They are unbeaten in ten games, winning nine of those games
Head to head
Both sides have clashed seven times in the past, with Ukraine winning just once, while England have won four in that period, including a 1-0 win at Euro 2012 in what is their only previous meeting at a major tournament. England scored 9 goals against 3 by Ukraine in those seven encounters.
Latest performances
Ukraine: WWLWLW (Goals for 11, goals against 6)
England: WWWDWW (Goals for 6, goals against 0)
Ukraine
The win qualified Andriy Shevchenko’s side for their first-ever European Championship quarter-final and ensured that they extended their stay in the competition for one more game.
And now, with the game set to be played against England, the coach will be looking for his team to make a statement and prove that they are severe challengers in the competition.
However, with one win so far over 90 minutes in the tournament, they enter this match as outsiders and will have to work extremely hard to stand a chance against England.
Possible Ukraine starting line-ups
Georgi Bushchan, Illia Zabarnyi, Serhii Kryvtsov, Mykola Matvienko, Oleksandr Karavaev, Mykola Shaparenko, Taras Stepanenko, Serhiy Sydorchuk, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Artem Dovbyk, Roman Yaremchuk.
Unavailable: Besedin
Misses next match if booked: Dovbyk, Shaparenko, Sydorchuk, Yarmolenko
England are a great team, they have a deep bench, an outstanding coaching staff and we are fully aware how tough this game is going to be. They are incredibly difficult to score against but their strength shouldn’t scare us. It should motivate us because everything is possible in football as in life and we will play our hearts out to give our fans even more to cheer about.
Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine
England
Gareth Southgate’s men put in a performance worthy of would-be European Champions and will be looking to stamp their authority in this year’s Euros campaign by picking up a win against the Ukrainians.
The Three Lions are one of the most in-form teams left in the tournament and are the only side who are yet to concede a goal since the European Championship started.
They have proven difficult to break down and are good at the back. They have also been effective in attack despite scoring just four goals so far in the tournament—the lowest for the teams remaining in the tournament.
Unbeaten in ten international games, The Three Lions are easily the favourites in this game and will be expected to beat their opponents in Rome.
Possible England Line-ups
Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Kalvin Phillips, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Jack Grealish.
Misses next match if booked: Foden, Maguire, Phillips, Rice
When we got in the dressing room [after beating Germany] we were talking about Saturday already. It was an immense performance but emotionally and physically at a cost. We have to make sure we recover well and that mentally, we are in the right space. We know it’s going to be an immense challenge from hereon.
Gareth Southgate, England
Probability
Ukraine : Draw : England :: 10% : 20% : 70% (results in 90 minutes)
Prediction
England are a better team and are the favourites to win this game. An organised defence and a very effective attack mean that the Three Lions are expected to progress at the expense of Ukraine. But Ukraine would not let the chance to qualify for Euro Semifinals too easily.
Ukraine 1:2 England