ENGLAND have overcome Ukraine at Wembley to continue their perfect start to their Euro 2024 qualifiers.
The Three Lions’ record scorer opened the scoring with his 55th goal for England.
Bukayo Saka went from creator to scorer as he bagged a screamer to double his country’s lead on halftime.
- Result: England 2-0 Ukraine
- England XI: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell, Rice, Henderson, Bellingham, Saka, Maddison, Kane.
- Ukraine XI: Trubin, Karavaev, Svatok, Matviyenko, Mykolenko, Sudakov, Stepanenko, Zinchenko, Malinovskyi, Mudryk, Yaremchuk.
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That's all from Wembley!
England defeated Ukraine 2-0 in their Euro 2024 qualifier at Wembley to remain top of their group.
The Three Lions opened the scoring after 37 minutes with Harry Kane, who extended his goalscoring record with his 55th cracker.
Kane picked up a cross from Bukayo Saka and beat Anatoliy Trubin at the far post amid poor marking by Oleksandr Karavayev.
Saka went from creator to scorer just three minutes later with a scintillating long-range shot that hit Trubin’s top right corner and gave the Ukrainian goalkeeper no chance.
That's all from us here at SunSport, have a great evening!
Credit: Getty - Kostas Lianos
More from Southgate
England manager Gareth Southgate revealed the positive atmosphere he has created within his squad.
Southgate added: "I love being part of this team, they are a joy to work with.
"When the new players come in, the older players make it easy for them to settle.
"They sit on tables to eat with them, they make them feel comfortable.
"If you are comfortable off the field then you can be yourself on the pitch. That’s what we try and create.”
Credit: AFP - Kostas Lianos
Gareth Southgate speaks
England boss Gareth Southgate praised his players and specifically congratulated the midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
Southgate told Channel 4: “I was really pleased with the performance. In Italy we played well in the first half but in the second half we conceded possession too easily.
"Today we made a difficult game look straightforward. We had to be right with our pressure and our midfield were excellent.
"The way in was then to use [Bukayo] Saka and [James] Maddison one-on-one or [Ben] Chilwell around the side. We stuck to the task really well.
“I thought he had a super game – that didn’t surprise me as he’s got the personality to play that way.
“Everybody can see the technical quality but it’s the mentality that is the outstanding part. These two boys have got the humility and want to learn. They work incredibly hard for the team, are reliable and are a joy to work with.”
Credit: Getty
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Rice shines again
West Ham star Declan Rice put together another impressive performance for England.
Rice played mostly as a No6 in a 4-1-4-1 formation and made his presence felt all over midfield.
As the heat map shows below, he played a huge role in blocking Ukraine's attacks.
More below:
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More from Bellingham
England star Jude Bellingham is loving life playing for Gareth Southgate.
Bellingham added: "I’m loving [playing for England] at the minute.
"It feels like we’ve got a really good atmosphere in the changing-room and I think that shows on the pitch as well.
"We all want to express ourselves but we’ve got a bit of nastiness in us as well – you look at the likes of Hendo [Jordan Henderson], Dec [Declan Rice], and I think myself as well. It’s important we cover all sides of the game."
Credit: Getty - Kostas Lianos
Jude Bellingham reacts
Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham put together another impressive performance but insists he has more to learn at England.
Bellingham said: "It was important that we followed up a really good result in Italy with another win tonight. When you do that it feels rewarding, because it’s a short camp, short turnaround, and you have to take in information really quickly. The boys did that well.
"There’s still so much I’ve still got to learn. The way I want to be as a midfielder is someone who can win you the game at both ends of the pitch and dominate the ball in the middle – I’ve always wanted to be somebody who does it a bit of everything.
"But you have the best chance with the guys in that changing-room and at Dortmund. I’m like a sponge at the minute. Any chance I get to learn about the game, I’m all in.
"At Dortmund I’m involved in the build up a lot more. I enjoy that as well but it means I can’t be as creative in the top third.
"I feel like I’m getting a sense of where the ball’s gonna land, and to be honest I think I could have done that a little bit better today. I felt I was a yard or two away from where I needed to be. But it’s all experience."
Credit: EPA - Kostas Lianos
Bukayo Saka's MOTM performance
England star Bukayo Saka dominated in the right wing against Ukraine.
Saka put together a stunning performance as he created Harry Kane's opener and then produced a screamer of his own.
And as the heat map below shows the Arsenal star owned his flank.
More below:
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Updated Euro table
England remain top of Group C in the Euro 2024 qualifying round.
The Three Lions have won both their first two matches against Italy and Ukraine.
Gareth Southgate's men are three points ahead of second-placed North Macedonia.
Ukraine, on the other hand are last as they have only played one game so far.
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England vs Ukraine stats
England dominated 58 per cent of possession against Ukraine at Wembley.
The Three Lions registered a total of 18 shots, eight of which were on target.
Ukraine, on the other hand, managed only three shots, none of which were on target.
More below:
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FT: England 2-0 Ukraine
England beat Ukraine 2-0 in their Euro 2024 qualifier at Wembley to remain top of their group.
The Three Lions opened the scoring after 37 minutes with Harry Kane, who extended his record with his 55th goal.
Kane picked up a cross from the right by Bukayo Saka and beat Anatoliy Trubin at the far post amid poor marking by Oleksandr Karavayev.
Saka went from creator to scorer just three minutes later with a stunning long-range shot that hit Trubin's top right corner and gave the Ukrainian goalkeeper no chance.
Credit: Alamy - Kostas Lianos
FT: England 2-0 Ukraine
Peep!
That's full-time at Wembley!!!
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90+2 England 2-0 Ukraine
Chance!
England star Grealish delivers a beautiful low shot from the left but Trubin saves it with a lunge to his left!
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90 England 2-0 Ukraine
Chance!
England ace Henderson delivers a stunning corner-kick from the right and finds Maguire at the far post where he delivers a header that just misses the net.
Three minutes of stoppage time to go!
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90 England 2-0 Ukraine
Substitution
Ukraine boss Rotan makes a late change with Konoplyanka replacing Stepanenko.
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87 England 2-0 Ukraine
Chance!
England come close to a third with Gallagher on his first touch I believe.
Chaos ensues inside Ukraine's area and Gallagher gets a close-range shot but Trubin denies him his first ever international goal.
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87 England 2-0 Ukraine
And there's Toney making his England debut.
The Brentford star has really shone bright this season at the Premier League.
Credit: PA - Kostas Lianos
85 England 2-0 Ukraine
Substitution
And there's a double switch by England manager Southgate, who brings on Grealish and Gallagher for Maddison and Bellingham.
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83 England 2-0 Ukraine
England debutant Toney is lucky to avoid a yellow card after actually climbing on Stepanenko with a reckless challenge.
Looks like we will soon be having Gallagher on the pitch.
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80 England 2-0 Ukraine
Substitution
England boss Southgate makes his first change and it is none other than Toney, who makes his debut and replaces Kane who gets a standing ovation.
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78 England 2-0 Ukraine
England are very comfortable and it seems like they are happy to let the clock move on.
Time is running out for any potential shock comebacks from Ukraine…
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75 England 2-0 Ukraine
Ukraine are pushing for at least one goal to please their fans, who they rarely get to enjoy due to the war.
The visitors earned a corne-kick a few minutes ago and are pushing from the wings.
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74 England 2-0 Ukraine
Substitution
Another switch by Ukraine boss Rotan as Dovbyk comes on for Yaremchuk.
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73 England 2-0 Ukraine
Ukraine are doing everything they can but it's important to mention what a difficult season players who are still competing at home are having due to the war.
Some have to train at different countries and then travel usually via train and bus for league matches due to their airspace being shut.
The performance is scrappy, but it's still a heroic performance.
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70 England 2-0 Ukraine
Chance
Saka tries another long-range shot from the right but this time he completely misses the target.
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69 England 2-0 Ukraine
Yellow card
And we have the first booking of the match as Ukraine ace Malinovskyi brings Saka down by pulling his shirt.
The visitors are lucky as the England star was only one step away from the box!
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