England continued their 100% record in their 2024 European Championship qualifiers with a win in a relatively uneventful fixture against Ukraine today.
It was a quiet opening 30 minutes, with very little goalmouth action at either end. The hosts dominated possession but found it difficult to break down a determined Ukrainian backline.
But they eventually made the breakthrough in the 37th minute. Bukayo Saka swung a cross to the back post, and Harry Kane was on hand to score his 55th international goal.
The Three Lions quickly doubled their advantage with a moment of individual brilliance from Saka. The Arsenal man picked the ball up from Jordan Henderson, turned past Mykola Matviyenko, and bent a stunning strike into the top corner.
There was almost nothing to report from the second half. Gareth Southgate’s men controlled the game after the break but didn’t push too hard for a third goal. Down the other end, the Blue and Yellow failed to have a shot on target.
Towards the end, England came close on several occasions to adding to the scoreline. Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin denied substitutes Conor Gallagher and Jack Grealish, while Harry Maguire was unable to find the net with two headers from corners.
The three points round off a fine start to Euro 2024 qualifying by England, having beaten Italy three days earlier.
England
Jordan Pickford (6/10) – A spectator. Not forced into a single save all afternoon.
Kyle Walker (7/10) – Kept Mudryk quiet. Didn’t do much going forward.
John Stones (7/10) – Coped with Yaremchuk fairly well. Not often tested.
Harry Maguire (7/10) – Also came under little pressure. Good on the ball.
Ben Chilwell (8/10) – Provided plenty of energy down the left. Unlucky not to have ended the game with an assist.
Declan Rice (8/10) – Protected the defence well. Key to England’s dominance.
Jordan Henderson (8/10) – Energetic and won most of his battles. Got an assist for Saka.
Jude Bellingham (8/10) – Composed on the ball as ever. Helped control the game in midfield.
Bukayo Saka (9/10) *MOTM* – Lit up the game with two moments of quality. Looks to have nailed down a spot in Southgate’s starting XI.
Harry Kane (8/10) – Held the ball up well and netted the opener.
James Maddison (7/10) – Tidy on the ball and got into some promising areas. End product wasn’t quite there.
Substitutes
Ivan Toney (6/10)
Jack Grealish (NA/10)
Conor Gallagher (NA/10)
Ukraine
Anatoliy Trubin (7/10) – Could do little about the goals. Made a couple of impressive saves late on.
Oleksandr Karavayev (5/10) – Allowed Kane to get ahead of him for the opener. Offered little going forward.
Oleksandr Svatok (6/10) – Started the game well and made a couple of key blocks. Found it more difficult against Kane as the game went on.
Mykola Matviyenko (5/10) – Let Saka turn far too easily for his goal. Fairly solid otherwise.
Vitaliy Mykolenko (4/10) – Found it difficult to deal with Saka. Substituted on the hour mark.
Taras Stepanenko (4/10) – Overran in midfield. Did little to stop England’s dominance.
Heorhiy Sudakov (4/10) – Difficult to remember him doing much. Lost his personal battles in midfield.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (4/10) – Worked hard, but unable to get a grip on the ball.
Ruslan Malinovskyi (5/10) – Arguably Ukraine’s most threatening player, but that isn’t saying much. Contributed more in defence than in attack.
Roman Yaremchuk (5/10) – Isolated up front. Unable to cause any problems for Stones and Maguire.
Mykhailo Mudryk (4/10) – Completely anonymous. Substituted in the second half.
Substitutes
Vitaliy Buyalskyi (5/10)
Viktor Tsyhankov (5/10)
Eduard Sobol (5/10)
Artem Dovbyk (5/10)
Yevhen Konopylanka (NA/10)
