England fans might have just recovered from the stress of Friday’s thrilling 3-2 win over Sweden in time for Tuesday’s crunch Group D encounter with co-hosts Ukraine (90 minutes). Roy Hodgson’s men need just a point to go through to the quarter-finals but England fans will know it may not be that simple. Will Roy’s boys make it through or crash and burn?
The permutations of England’s game in Donestk on Tuesday are fairly simple: avoid defeat and reach the quarter-finals, bettering the expectations of some supporters. Loss and come home early with your tails between your legs again.
While the two performances by the Three Lions to date have been far from convincing they have produced the necessary results and that is all that matters at this point.
Whether we will see a return to a cautious approach by England in the last group game is up for debate, Hodgson keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to his plans for Ukraine. The England coach is more than likely going to restore Wayne Rooney to his starting XI for the game, meaning either Danny Welbeck or Andy Carroll will drop to the bench.
Both players performed well against Sweden and Hodgson will have to weigh up whether he wants the physical presence of Carroll or the pace and trickier of Welbeck. Either way, Rooney is likely to play just off whoever starts up front and should make the difference against the co-hosts.
No doubt it will be a hostile atmosphere in Donestk but England came through something similar on Friday when the Swedes outnumbered the English 3-to-1 in Kiev. The Three Lions have the edge in terms of history as well, winning three out of the four meetings. However, they did lose their most recent clash against Ukraine in 2010 in a World Cup qualifier.
The Ukraines are 5/2 to secure the three points they need to make it through to the next round, with a repeat of their 1-0 win over England two years ago priced at 9/1. Hodgsons team are 6/5 and the draw 9/4 (match betting).
The draw seems like the most likely outcome in this one, especially with Ukraine’s main threat Andriy Shevchenko a doubt for the game. Some critics may say England lack strength in depth but the fact the Ukrainians are still relying on 35-year-old Shevchenko to get the goals speaks volumes about the state of their team.
The former Chelsea man has scored all of his nation’s goals in the tournament thus far and without him you struggle to see Ukraine getting more than one, even with England’s issues with set pieces.
Rooney is bound to want to prove a point and as such you’d fancy him to pop up with a goal. The Manchester United striker is 13/8 to score anytime and 9/2 to break the deadlock first. It seems to be inevitable that game will be an ugly contest given the lack of skill both teams possess. However, Rooney could prove to be the one bit of quality England need to edge it.
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