England will welcome Ukraine to London this Sunday for their second Euro 2024 qualifier match.
After a disappointing ending to their last two tournaments, the Three Lions are looking to rebuild again under long-serving coach Gareth Southgate. The Englishman is looking to secure a place for his side in the European Championship for the fourth consecutive time.
And his side have started on a strong note, beating holders Italy 2-1 in the first game at Naples. Goals from Declan Rice and record-breaker Harry Kane sealed the win and ended a miserable run of results against Roberto Mancini’s side.
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Their target will be solidifying their top position with another dominant display in front of their fans at Wembley. Given their record in Euro qualifiers, they will fancy their chances against a Ukraine side that England have lost to only once (W5, D2, L1).
After narrowly missing out on a place in Qatar last summer, Ukraine are looking to go above the challenges facing them collectively as a war-torn nation. Like their hosts, they are targeting a fourth straight European Championship outing.
But unlike England, this is the visitor’s first Euro qualifiers match in this cycle. They did not play in midweek but warmed up for this game with a 2-0 win against Brentford’s second team.
With England and North Macedonia already on three points apiece, Ukraine will be desperate to put some points on the board to give them a chance to qualify from Group C.
The visitors were the only side in their group to avoid defeat in all their away games in the previous cycle (W2, D2), including both games entered as outsiders in Serbia and Portugal. So they will be confident of getting a good result.
However, their last competitive outing was a heartbreaking defeat to another British side Scotland, which denied them UEFA Nations League qualification.
Meanwhile, England have led 1-0 at half-time in four of the previous eight H2H encounters. So a goal in the first half is expected in this game.
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