Ukraine
Finland vs Ukraine preview, team news, betting tips & prediction
Ukraine will be looking to pick up their first win of the World Cup qualifiers when they take on Finland this week. The two sides meet on Saturday at 17:00 pm BST. Ukraine are second in their group but they are without a win so far. The home fans will be expecting a better performance from the players here. Meanwhile, Finland picked up a win over Kazakhstan last month and they will fancy their chances of pulling off an upset. Finland vs Ukraine team news Finland are without Marcus Forss and Kaan Kairinen due to injury. Rasmus Schuller is suspended. Oleksandr Zinchenko will miss out for Ukraine along with Denys Boyko, Vitalli Mykolenko and Vitaliy Buyalskiy through injury. Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi was not called up. Finland possible starting line-up: Hradecky; Toivio, Arajuuri, Va...
Lithuania begins building barrier on border with Belarus to block migrants
Lithuania began building a barrier along its border with Belarus on Friday after accusing Belarusian authorities of flying in migrants from abroad to send illegally into the European Union. The first stretch of barrier will run 500 metres (1,640 feet) in length, measure 1.8 metres (six feet) in height and consist of concertina and razor wire, the army defence chief’s spokeswoman Ruta Montvile told Reuters. Belarus in May decided to allow migrants to enter EU member Lithuania in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the bloc after Minsk forced a Ryanair flight to land on its soil and arrested a dissident blogger who was on board. “If someone thinks we will close our border with Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine and will become a holding site for those running from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq...
Tottenham star shines, joy for Maguire and Hendo – time to recap a wondrous night
England hammered Ukraine 4-0 in Rome to reach the last four of a major tournament for the second campaign in a row, setting up a semi-final clash at Wembley Stadium against Denmark. A brace from Harry Kane and headers from both Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson sealed a resounding victory over the Ukrainians, while the Three Lions’ defence remains unbreached across all five games they have played at Euro 2020. Coming into the game, England manager Gareth Southgate handed Jadon Sancho a first start at the tournament The tricky winger looked to have made an immediate impact as he went down in the box after just three minutes, but the penalty claims were waved away by German referee Felix Byrch. Just 30 seconds later, the Three Lions made their presence felt and took the lead against an oppo...
Everton star deserves praise, Dortmund player shows class,
The final four for the European Championships is now known, with Denmark and England joining Spain and Italy in the semi-finals yesterday. The Danes have enjoyed an emotional run to this stage of the competition, and will not make it easy for the Three Lions on Wednesday. As for England, their display against Ukraine bristled with attacking intent and they will never have a better chance of winning a major trophy. We make no apologies for being a little biased today by making our latest Euro 2020 Diary England themed. Bellingham shows his class Professional footballers often get a bad rap – ‘forgotten their roots’ and ‘too big for their boots’ are amongst the criticisms aimed at players. With that in mind, it was fantastic to see Jude Bellingham seek out a group of Birmingham City fans and...
Luke Shaw hits back at Jose Mourinho in Rome as England roll on
At Jose Mourinho’s new home, the Stadio Olimpico, Luke Shaw, chose the perfect setting for his latest riposte to his former boss with two assists in England’s 4-0 thrashing of Ukraine to reach the Euro 2020 semi-finals. Shaw suffered at the hands of Mourinho for three seasons at Manchester United, a string of public criticism not a patch on what was said behind closed doors, the 25-year-old admitted this week. Mourinho’s arrival at Old Trafford came hot on the heels of a horrible double leg fracture Shaw suffered in September 2015. The former Southampton defender revealed in 2018 there had even been fears his right leg would have to be amputated because of blood clots that required emergency surgery. His career never got back on track during Mourinho’s tempestuous time at United, where he ...
Euro 2020: UEFA name German referee for England vs Ukraine
German referee Felix Brych will take charge of England vs Ukraine – just days after the Three Lions dumped his nation out of Euro 2020. Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane grabbed the goals as Gareth Southgate’s side defeated Germany 2-0 at Wembley on Tuesday. That was enough to fire England into the quarters where they are now preparing to take on Ukraine in Rome. And the man in the middle will be someone who would have wanted England to lose two days ago. Brych is Germany’s representative at Euro 2020 and one of the best-known referees in the world. He took charge of Portugal’s last 16 exit to Belgium, a match in which he dished out five yellow cards. He’s already refereed Ukraine at this tournament, overseeing their thrilling 3-2 defeat to Holland. That match saw Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchen...
Ukraine vs England – Euro 2020 Quarter-Final Preview, H2H, Team News, Players to Watch & Predicted Line-ups
England’s pursuit of the Euro 2020 title continues at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday as they take on Ukraine in an intriguing quarter-final showdown. Ukraine came out on top of an extra-time drama against Sweden in the last-16, with Oleksandr Zinchenko’s breathtaking display nudging the Ukrainians to a 2-1 victory. Meanwhile, England’s quest to win their first European Championship title saw them crash out fierce rivals Germany 2-0 in the first knock-out round on the back of another Raheem Sterling’s heroic. But be aware that this will be England’s first match at the tournament away from Wembley. Note: You can watch all Euro 2020 games via live streaming. Ukraine Preview Artem Dovbyk’s last-gasp strike fired Ukraine past Sweden last time out, helping them reach the quarter-finals in ...
Euro 2020: Italy bars travelling England fans from Rome stadium
Fans travelling from the UK to Italy for England’s Euro 2020 quarterfinal clash with Ukraine on Saturday will not be allowed to enter the stadium in Rome, even if they have a ticket, due to coronavirus curbs, the Italian Embassy in London said on Thursday. England’s victory over Germany on Tuesday set up the last-eight clash at the Stadio Olimpico, but fans looking to make the journey to Italy from the UK cannot attend the match. “Anybody who has been in the UK in the previous 14 days, irrespective of their nationality or residency, will not be admitted to the stadium, even if they have a ticket,” a statement read. “Only those who can prove that they have arrived in Italy at least six days previously, have observed five days of quarantine, and have taken a post-quarantine Covid-19 test wit...
Euro 2020 Predictions: England, Denmark, Spain and Italy to progress to the semifinals
After a thrilling set of last 16 ties, the Euro 2020 quarter-finals are upon us. We could be in for another exhilarating round of fixtures. With giants such as France, Germany, Portugal and Netherlands all eliminated, the tournament is wide open. All of the remaining eight will know that there is a huge opportunity to get some silverware in the cabinet. Here are our predictions for the quarter-finals. Switzerland vs Spain Morata got his first goal of the summer in extra time Having looked down and out against France, Switzerland pulled off the shock of the tournament by coming back and defeating the world champions on penalties. Spain’s game against Croatia was equally as thrilling. They were 3-1 up going into the closing stages but conceded twice late on to go to extra time before hitting...
‘We’ve got to make sure we’re ready’: Spurs star issues rallying call
Harry Kane insists there is no room for complacency in the England camp following a memorable 2-0 win over Germany as he pinpoints Ukraine’s ‘greatest strength.’ Kane told the England team’s official YouTube channel the Three Lions have to be at their best to get past Ukraine in the quarter-finals. “We were on the couch, and we were watching it – we had it on, and it was a good game,” he said. “Ukraine had a huge high, scoring in injury-time, so I’m sure they’ll be buzzing today, and I’m sure they’ll take that into the game on Saturday. “We’ve just got to make sure we’re ready for everyone, their greatest strength is our team unity, and we need to be ready. “We know if we play to our highest abilities, we should have enough to win the game. But it’s knockout football, so we’ve got to make ...
‘This should not frighten us’: Man City star not phased by facing England
Manchester City star Oleksandr Zinchenko believes in Ukraine’s chances of surpassing England in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals this Saturday. In an interview with The Independent, Zinchenko maintained England’s strength and squad depth but insisted Ukraine will fancy their chances in Rome. “I watched almost all of their matches at the Euros except for (Germany),” he said. “I know many players of the team personally, thanks to the matches in the Premier League. “It is very difficult to score for this team. It is a great team with a fantastic selection of performers. “If you look at their bench, there are players worth, probably, like three national teams of Ukraine. “But this should not frighten us, but rather motivate us. I have already felt that everything in this life is real. I will perso...
2 England, 1 Belgium, 2 Switzerland – Best XI from the round of 16
As the group stages came to a close, the knockout rounds of Euro 2020 begun, and the round of 16 certainly didn’t disappoint. We’ve had everything you could possibly want. Penalty shootouts, giant killings, last gasp winners, eight-goal thrillers, screamers, VAR drama – it’s what we live for as football fans. Here are our picks for the best XI from the round of 16. Jordan Pickford (GK) – England’s goalkeeper position has been the subject of debate for a while now, with many of the fans preferring the likes of Nick Pope and Dean Henderson over the Everton stopper. However, Gareth Southgate stuck with Pickford and has been rewarded for his faith. Against Germany, the 27-year-old was on top of his game, making crucial saves to deny Timo Werner and Kai Havertz at 0-0. Cesar Azpilicueta (R...
