England are well on their way to qualifying for next summer’s European Championship in Germany after four consecutive wins to start their campaign.
Gareth Southgate’s team are six points clear of Ukraine in Group C and nine points clear of Italy in third, albeit those two nations have played fewer games.
England need to finish in the top two of the group to reach the finals, something they will surely accomplish in the coming months.
What is it?
England play Ukraine in their only competitive match of September’s international break, before they play Scotland in a friendly.
Goals from Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka were enough to earn England a victory when the nations played at Wembley in March. England ran out 4-0 winners when they faced Ukraine in Rome in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 (played in 2021).
When is it?
Saturday, September 9. The game will kick-off at 5pm (BST).
Where is the game being played?
The game will be played at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw, Poland. Ukraine’s national team have played their home matches in Poland since Russia’s of Ukraine in February last year.
What TV channel is it on?
Channel 4 have exclusive live coverage of England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers in the UK.
Who is in England’s squad?
Jack Grealish is likely to miss the match through injury. The Manchester City midfielder missed his side’s 5-1 victory over Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday with a thigh injury.
Juanma Lillo, the City assistant manager, said it was doubtful Grealish would be available in time to feature for his country.
“It’s going to be difficult for Jack to make it, but I’m not a doctor and it will be difficult for me to explain,” Lillo said.
Southgate took the decision to omit Raheem Sterling from his squad this week but it remains to be seen whether the Chelsea forward could be reinstated should Grealish not make it.
Sterling, who has 82 caps, was left bitterly disappointed by Southgate’s decision, which was the first time the player had been omitted by England when he has been fit and available since he was first selected by his country nine years ago.
Southgate is already without the City defender John Stones through injury while fellow defenders Luke Shaw and Tyrone Mings are also unavailable.
England squad vs Ukraine
Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal).
Defenders: Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal).
Forwards: Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Callum Wilson (Newcastle United).
What are the odds?
- Ukraine 11/2
- England 4/9
- Draw 16/5
Kane’s move to Bayern can help England, says Southgate
By Mike McGrath
Gareth Southgate expects Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich to benefit England at the European Championship next year with his captain’s future now settled and the likelihood of a first major trophy.
Kane went into the previous Euros overshadowed by him making it clear he wanted to move away from Tottenham, but next summer’s tournament in Germany will come after he has completed a season in the Bundesliga.
Southgate’s captain has cited trophies as the main reason for his Spurs departure, with Bayern expected to win the title and challenge for the Champions League. The England manager does not believe the change of pace from the Premier League will have an impact on him on the international stage.
“I definitely think from a selfish England perspective it’s good that his future’s settled now for the next few years,” said Southgate. “I think potentially that can be a distraction for players. But also it’s good for him that he’s got to go and perform at a new club now.
“He’d been at one club for so long. To have a change means you’ve got to impress new team-mates, new staff, new fans, and also there’s the life experience of having the breadth of adjusting to a new country. I think there’s a lot of positives there.
“I’m sure for his own belief that [a trophy] would be brilliant. I’m not sure that he’s going to become a better player but there might be other aspects of the mentality that this move will help him with. They’re probably the bits that as you get older are the only bits you can improve upon.”
Kane will skipper England against Ukraine, followed by the friendly against Scotland at Hampden Park to mark the 150th anniversary match of the fixture.
With Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid, Fikayo Tomori at AC Milan and Jordan Henderson in Saudi Arabia, Southgate now has a contingent of players at foreign clubs.
“Those opportunities have to be there for them. Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] has joined Fikayo at Milan, Tammy [Abraham] is injured but him and Chris Smalling are at Roma,” said Southgate.
“We have got a handful of players playing in Europe, not as many as other countries export but that is their own career decision really. If they get opportunities to go we might see one or two more go abroad. But we’re an island nation and we don’t always look outside of the island and have enthusiasm for travel so I also can understand why it might not be for some players.”
While Southgate selected Harry Maguire despite him not playing for Manchester United this season, he revealed he has not spoken to Ben White about a return to the squad after he left during the World Cup last season. John Stones has also been struggling with fitness at centre-back.
“I didn’t speak to Ben this time, no. I spoke with him in March ahead of the squad there but at the minute we’ve got the others ahead of Ben,” said Southgate.
England will play another qualifier at Wembley against Italy next month, with the dynamic of their opponents possibly changing after Roberto Mancini took a coaching role for the Saudi Arabia national team two weeks after he resigned as Italy head coach.
“I don’t know the ins and outs of what happened in the Italian Federation to comment on Mancini’s decision. For us now it is interesting [Luciano] Spalletti being in charge and we’ve got to prepare. Be interesting to see how they play this month and whether it will be vastly different,” Southgate said.
