England vs. Ukraine Preview

England go into their final Group D fixture with co-hosts Ukraine in Donetsk on Tuesday June 17 needing just a point to qualify for the knockout stages following their nail-biting comeback win against Sweden.

Roy Hodgson’s men went 2-1 down to the Scandinavians amidst a horror display but managed to hit back and record a 3-2 success which puts them in prime position to reach the last eight.

But the Three Lions will undoubtedly have to play much better against the Ukrainians who will be gunning for victory and progress at their home tournament in front of a raucous partisan support.

Ukraine started the championship well in match day one, beating Sweden in similar fashion to England after reversing a goal deficit courtesy of a fine double strike from national hero Andriy Shevchenko.

And the former Chelsea and AC Milan marksman should be prominent once more in Donetsk as the Ukraine look to bounce back from their storm interrupted 0-2 defeat to group leaders France.

Ukraine sit a point behind England heading into the contest and the home team are likely to be the more adventurous in attack with a win required to stay at their own party.

England’s tactics should remain pretty similar to those deployed against France and Sweden, with boss Hodgson keen to set his defence deep and rely on the counter attack and set pieces to hurt the opposition.

The key for England is the return of banned star Wayne Rooney who is set to go straight back into the starting line-up despite the impressive goal scoring performances of Andy Carroll and Danny Welbeck against the eliminated Swedes.

And the Manchester United man must surely have to make an instant impact in order to justify his immediate inclusion in the England front line.

Rooney is arguably a class apart from the other forwards in the squad however Hodgson’s intentions to drop Carroll or Welbeck from a winning team have split opinion amongst fans and the media.

Backers will probably see the 26-year-old’s return as a major boost and bonus for England and they are certainly a far better betting proposition with Rooney back in the fold.

Nevertheless, Hodgson’s charges still appear a little short at just over even money considering their relatively poor showings to date and the fact that they are playing a decent outfit in their own back yard.

And not forgetting, England fell to their forthcoming opponents 1-0 the last time the two teams met in Ukraine back in 2009.

Regardless of how they obtained a win, England should be far more confident in their approach to the next game after banking their first competitive success under Hodgson.

But Ukraine will not make life easy for them and it is easy to envisage a minor upset unless England’s improvement is marked.

Ukraine are a best priced 11/4 to prevail and send England packing and that might just be the case with veteran Shevchenko fancied to get one over on old Blues team mate John Terry who has so far looked visibly shaky in defence at the championship.

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18/06/2012     © Frixo 2024