England maintained their perfect start to Euro 2024 qualifying as they beat Ukraine 2-0 at Wembley. A 55th international goal for Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka’s excellent strike gave the visitors a mountain to climb and they were unable to truly test Gareth Southgate’s side.
Ed Mackey
March 26, 2023 at 3:50 PM EDT
Summary
England maintained their perfect start to Euro 2024 qualifying as they beat Ukraine 2-0 at Wembley.
A 55th international goal for Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka’s excellent strike gave the visitors a mountain to climb and they were unable to truly test Gareth Southgate’s side.
Ukraine had started strongly in London and did well to frustrate England for almost 40 minutes but the hosts’ pressure paid dividends in the 37th minute.
Kane and Saka combined and the Tottenham striker was well-placed at the back post to stab home the Arsenal winger’s perfect cross.
No sooner had Anatoliy Trubin been picking the ball out of his net, he was beaten again. Fresh from providing the assist for the opener, Saka turned his defender and curled a brilliant effort beyond the Ukraine goalkeeper and into the top corner.
There was a first England start for James Maddison while Ivan Toney was introduced in the closing stages for his international debut as the Euro 2020 finalists made it two wins from two games in qualifying for next year’s tournament.
(All photos: Getty Images)
When is the next international break?
For those of you that don't like the disruption to the domestic schedule caused by international breaks, fear not, there isn't another international break until the summer.
This current break is the final one of the 2022-23 season.
The next round of Euro 2024 qualifiers are played in June. For England, those come in the form of a trip to Malta on June 16 before hosting North Macedonia a few days later on June 19.
For reference, the final round of Premier League games are being played on May 28 while the Champions League final will be played on June 10.
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Today's other results around Europe
It has been a busy day in the world of Euro 2024 qualifiers.
While there are still some games going on as I type (those will be marked with an asterisk), here are the results from across the continent.
Group C
England 2-0 Ukraine
Malta 0-2 Italy* (HT)
Group H
Kazakhstan 3-2 Denmark
Slovenia 2-0 San Marino
Northern Ireland 0-1 Finland* (HT)
Group J
Liechtenstein 0-7 Iceland
Luxembourg 0-4 Portugal* (HT)
Slovakia 2-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina* (HT)
Steven Gerrard heaps praise on Jude Bellingham amid Liverpool transfer interest
Steven Gerrard has lavished praise on Jude Bellingham, insisting the 19-year-old’s progress far outstrips his own at the same age.
Bellingham – who has long cited Gerrard as one of his childhood idols – was mightily impressive in the win.
Gerrard was stood next to Bellingham as part of Channel 4's post-match analysis at Wembley and showered him with praise.
“You’re a lot further ahead than when I was your age, so you’re going in the right direction that’s for sure,” said the former Liverpool captain. “I never had that power and strength until I was probably 22, 23 so he is definitely more physically developed than me.
“He’s more confident than me on the ball in terms of what he will try. And I’m not saying that just being modest, it’s the truth, I think he’s further on than what I was at 19.
“I got to where I wanted to get to and he’ll get to where he wants to get to if he carries on doing what’s doing."
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Steven Gerrard heaps praise on Jude Bellingham amid Liverpool transfer interest
Zinchenko: Massive thanks to those who supported us
Speaking after the match, Zinchenko took the opportunity to show his gratitude to the people of Ukraine.
"I would say a massive thanks to those who came today and also those who didn't have that opportunity but still supported us," he said.
"I said to the lads that this atmosphere is one of the best that we've seen, somewhere we dreamed of playing as kids. Unfortunately the result was not good but it's still a good experience for us."
A deserved Player of the Match award for Saka
The England fans had their say and they decided that Saka was deserving of the Player of the Match award.
Zinchenko was asked about his Arsenal team mate's performance after the game, he said: "He's an amazing player, we knew that. He's on fire at the moment and I hope that continues until the end of the season."
Maddison: The World Cup was really frustrating
Part of the reason Maddison had to wait so long for a second cap was the injury that affected his participation at the 2022 World Cup.
He travelled to every game with England and was on the bench for the last three games of the tournament but didn't get on the pitch.
"The World Cup was really frustrating," said the Leicester midfielder. "I just couldn't shake off a little knee injury. It's hard to describe because you're so happy to part of the group but then you have the lows of not playing and injuries are the worst things you can have.
"My focus after a little break was to get back to full fitness, play well for Leicester and get back into the next England squad. I did that and I got my opportunity today so I'm happy to move from one cap to two."
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It almost felt like a second debut — Maddison
There aren't many players who are forced to wait more than three years for their second international cap after earning their first.
Unfortunately, that's how long Maddison had to wait but he took full advantage at Wembley against Ukraine with a strong showing.
"It almost felt like a second debut," he told Channel 4. "I know that doesn't really work but I've had to wait a long time since the first one — I can't remember my debut.
"It was lovely to be out there, I tried to treat it as just another game of football and bring my strengths and my skillset to the team. It makes the night even more special to top it off with a win."
(All photos: Getty Images)
Saka: That was definitely one of my better goals
Saka scores a lot of goals, but there won't be many he's scored that are better than the one he got today. The Arsenal winger admitted it was one of his best.
"That was definitely up there, as soon as it left my foot I knew it was going to be on target and, when I looked up, it was in the top corner so one of my better goals," he told Channel 4, before touching on the overall performance.
"I think it was an excellent team performance, it was a quick turnaround from the last game and we had to fight a lot in that game (against Italy) so some of the lads were tired. But today we played really well and we're happy with the three points."
(All photos: Getty Images)
High praise from Southgate for Maddison and Chilwell
Despite their form at club level over a sustained period, both Maddison and Chilwell were rare inclusions in the England starting XI this afternoon.
In his post-match interview with Channel 4, Southgate dedicated praise to the two players who started the game on the left-hand side.
"They know each other well and have played together at Leicester which was helpful," said the England manager.
"We wanted James to start on the left to drift inside and he found those spaces really well and I thought he had a super game. It didn't surprise me because he's got the personality to play that way.
"Ben is at his best when he's going on the outside and getting into the final third, so I think they did well together."
Southgate: We made a difficult game look straight forward
With pressure constantly mounting over his job security, Southgate was delighted to see his players get off to the perfect start in Euro 2024 qualifying.
"I'm really pleased," he told Channel 4. "I'm also pleased with the performance today.
"In Italy, we played very well in the first half with the ball and then, in the second half, conceded possession too cheaply and we had to show a lot of resilience to get the result.
"Today, I thought we made a difficult game look straight forward. I thought we stuck to the task really well."
(All photos: Getty Images)
Bellingham: The good changing room atmosphere translates onto the pitch
Bellingham also discussed the atmosphere within the England camp.
"I've got so much to learn but I've got the best chance with those guys in that changing room and the ones I've got at Dortmund," he said in his post-match interview with Channel 4.
"I'm like a sponge a bit at the minute, to be honest, I just want to take everything in. I'm loving it — it feels like we've got a really good atmosphere in the changing room and I think it shows on the pitch as well."
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Captaining England is my biggest dream — Bellingham
Despite being just 19 years old, Bellingham is a footballer — and a man — that operates considerably beyond his years and it certainly wouldn't come as a surprise to see him captain England in the near future.
He admitted that wearing the armband for his country is among his main ambitions.
"That's the biggest dream," he told Channel 4. "It's the biggest honour in football captaining your country, especially when you play for a nation like England.
"At the minute, there's a long pecking order and I highly respect all the lads in that. I'll wait my turn and, in the meantime, it's all about picking up what I can from those guys in terms of leadership."
(All photos: Getty Images)
Bellingham: Two wins was all we could ask for
Jude Bellingham only further strengthened his credentials as arguably the best young player in world football over the course of the games against Italy and Ukraine.
Before discussing the development of his own game, he spoke about the importance of winning both matches.
"(Six points) was all we could ask for at the start of the camp," the Dortmund midfielder told Channel 4. "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 and a short turnaround. We've got to take in information quickly so the boys did really well."
Full-time stats pack
Here are all the stats you need from a successful afternoon at Wembley for England.
England 2-0 Ukraine
Shots: 18 - 3
Shots on target: 8 - 0
Expected goals (xG): 2.05 - 0.13
Corners: 7 - 1
Fouls: 9 - 12
Yellow cards: 0 - 1
Passes completed: 522 - 389
England make it two from two in Euro 2024 qualifying
FT England 2-0 Ukraine
And, just like that, England have put themselves in a very commanding position in Group C.
Goals from Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka killed the match as a contest towards the end of the first half and they saw out the game without any problems in the second half.
As for Ukraine, they were disappointing but better teams than them have come unstuck against this England side.
(All photos: Getty Images)
Maguire heads over as three minutes added on
90+1' England 2-0 Ukraine
The Ukraine defenders have left Maguire wide open once again at a corner but, while this effort was better than the last, he still fails to test Trubin.
As the ball sails over the crossbar, the fourth official indicates that three minutes will be added on.
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Trubin saves from Gallagher
87' England 2-0 Ukraine
No sooner had he come onto the pitch, Gallagher had a great opportunity to score his first England goal.
Arriving late into the box, almost Lampard-esque, his snapshot was well kept out by Trubin.
Maguire was left free from the resulting corner but his header was never going to trouble the Ukraine goalkeeper.
Maddison's full England debut is cut short
85' England 2-0 Ukraine
That performance will have done Maddison no harm at all — he showed some nice touches and, on another day, might have opened his account with one of the three shots he had.
Bellingham is also leaving the pitch with Maddison after another top-drawer display.
In their places, Grealish and Gallagher have been introduced.
Gallagher and Grealish getting ready to enter the fray
84' England 2-0 Ukraine
There's more movement in the England dug out as Gallagher and Grealish gear up for action.
As for the game itself, there is very little to shout about — I feel like I've been watching a training session for the last 20 minutes.
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