England vs Ukraine result, highlights as Kane and Saka score in ...
WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON — England made it two wins from two in their opening Euro 2024 qualifiers as Harry Kane extended his lead atop his country's leading goalscorer charts with another strike at Wembley in a 2-0 win over Ukraine.
Having scored three days ago in the 2-1 win over Italy to eclipse Wayne Rooney's record of 53 goals, it seemed only right that upon his hero's return back at Wembley he extended that to go two clear, while Bukayo Saka also found the net for the hosts.
It was fitting that Kane and Saka would provide the much needed spark England craved in the first half with the Arsenal winger providing the assist to his Tottenham rival on 37 minutes with a delicious cross into the back post which the striker gladly converted on the volley.
Three minutes later Saka showed goalscoring quality of his own, picking up the ball on the right side of the box before turning his man and curling a perfectly placed shot with his left foot into the top left corner.
Until then, England had been knocking on the door with a few half chances, but two moments of magic from a player of Saka's quality proved decisive as Ukraine headed into the break without having a shot on target and plenty of work to do.
That stat didn't change for Ukraine in the second half as England continued to find an extra gear before the final half an hour felt rather flat from both sides, in truth.
James Maddison impressed on only his second England appearance while Ivan Toney made his long-awaited debut off the bench in the final 10 minutes, leaving Southgate with plenty of positives to take as they remain top of Group C in their quest for a place at next summer's tournament in Germany.
England's next match comes against Malta on June 16 before they host North Macedonia at Wembley three days later.
Analysis to follow.
The Sporting News was following the match live and providing live score updates, commentary.
MORE: Euro 2024 qualifying group tables, standings, fixtures and results
Confirmed lineups
England starting XI (4-3-3): Pickford (GK) — Walker, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell — Bellingham (85' Gallagher), Rice, Henderson — Saka, Kane (80' Toney), Maddison (85' Grealish)
Ukraine starting XI (4-2-3-1): Trubin (GK) — Karavev (60' Buyalskiy), Svatok, Matviyenko, Mykolenko (60' Sobol)— Zinchenko, Stepanenko (90' Konoplianka) — Malinovskyi, Sudakov, Mudryk (60' Tsygankov)— Yaremchuk (73' Dovbyk)
England vs Ukraine final score 1H 2H Final England 2 0 2 Ukraine 0 0 0Goals:
ENG — Kane (37th min)
ENG — Saka (40th min)
England vs Ukraine live updates, highlights from Euro 2024 qualifierFULL-TIME: England 2-0 Ukraine
A comfortable win and performance from England from start to finish. Goals from Kane and Saka proved decisive in the first half while the second 45 felt a little flat. Job done for Southgate though and they sit top of Group C after the opening two matches.
90th min+2: Grealish comes close this time with a shot bent into the bottom right of the goal but Trubin does well to get down quickly and palm it away.
90th min: A big change for Maguire to get on the scoresheet! Henderson takes the corner and Maguire is basically unmarked but steers his header just over. He knows he should have scored that.
90th min: A final change for Ukraine as Konoplianka comes on for Stepanenko.
88th min: The two subs make an instant impact as some neat play from Grealish down the left eventually sees the ball fall kindly to Gallagher, but his shot is saved from close range.
85th min: Maddison and Bellingham are given a breather with Grealish and Gallagher coming on.
5 - James Maddison has created five chances today, the most by a player in his first @England men's start since Theo Walcott v Andorra in September 2008 (6). Claim. pic.twitter.com/9wpMfQ1EBI
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 26, 202380th min: Let's see if Toney can inject some life into this match on his England debut. He's on for goalscorer Kane, who receives a standing ovation as he hands the armband over to Henderson and departs the field.
HERE HE COMES ????????
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) March 26, 202378th min: Still 12 minutes to go and it could be a long 12 minutes if it carries on at this tempo. A bit of hoof ball and some scrappy passes is the order of play right now.
73rd min: Yaremchuk is off for Dovbyk and Ukraine have a corner in front of their adoring fans which goes over absolutely every player in the box. Still no changes from Southgate.
68th min: Saka puts the burners on to get past Malinovskyi and is brought down just on the edge of the box. It's an easy yellow card for referee Serdar Gozubuyuk to dish out.
65th min: We've got Mexican waves going and fans putting their phone lights on too, by the way. That's indicative of what's happening on the pitch right now... not a lot.
60th min: Triple change for Ukraine. Sobol, Buyalskiy and Tsygankov come on for Mudryk, Karavev and Mykolenko.
58th min: Saka plays a low cross into the box and Bellingham attempts a back heel finish but doesn't quite connect with it.
55th min: Ukraine are finding their feet a little with some neat passing moves in and around England's box at present. Rice makes a crucial interception to deny them.
49th min: England are all over Ukraine in the early stages with the visitors yet to get out their half. The best chance of this spell falls to Maddison, who goes for power instead of placement with a shot from just inside the box and it sails over.
We're back underway!
???? Harry Kane has now scored his 22nd goal for England at Wembley and his 55th in total for the Three Lions, the most of any England international:
55 - Harry Kane
53 - Wayne Rooney
52 - Ellen White
49 - Sir Bobby Charlton
????♂️ He's already extending the gap at the top... pic.twitter.com/DpEuP5gl2M
HALF-TIME: England 2-0 Ukraine
45th min: Three added minutes. Ukraine just need to get to the break here. England have also slowed down a little having got two quick goals.
40th min: GOAL! England 2-0 Ukraine
Saka with a stunner! He turns his man on the edge of the box and curls it with his left foot into the top left corner of the goal. That was absolutely perfect placement! Goal No.55 for Mr. Tottenham.
Watch in UK:
A smart finish from Saka puts @England two goals up ???? #C4Football | #ThreeLions | #ENGUKR pic.twitter.com/3nd5h8HD1o
— Channel 4 Sport (@C4Sport) March 26, 2023Watch in US:
You can only admire brilliance when it comes in the form of a finish from Bukayo Saka ???????????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/meu2FmLix2
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 26, 202337th min: GOAL! England 1-0 Ukraine
It had been coming of course, it's that man Kane again. Saka plays in a delicious ball to the back post and Kane connects to volley home past Trubin from three yards.
Watch in UK:
AND HARRY KANE DOES IT AGAIN ???? #C4Football | #ThreeLions | #ENGUKR pic.twitter.com/dyw55c1311
— Channel 4 Sport (@C4Sport) March 26, 2023Watch in US:
IT HAD TO BE KANE ????????????????????????????@England leads 1-0 over Ukraine! pic.twitter.com/5x9TWF8kw5
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 26, 202336th min: Saka, Maddison and Henderson all take snap shots from the edge of the box in quick succession but are met with three different blocks.
34th min: Now Maddison goes close with a header from Henderson's cross but he commits a foul in the process. Not quite the same level of attacking intensity we saw on Thursday night against Italy, so far.
30th min: Arsenal fans won't be enjoying this game too much right now because that's the third time Saka has been fouled. Maddison takes a quick free-kick and Kane is quickest to react but he pokes it just over the bar. He looked just offside anyway.
25th min: This time Walker whips one in from the right to an unmarked Kane in the middle of the six-yard box but he attempts to volley it in and completely messes it up, failing to make contact. Take that Golden Boot trophy he just received back off him!
21st min: Chilwell crosses in to Kane at the back post but his header goes straight into the hands of Trubin.
17th min: At the other end Trubin fails to deal with an easy catch and Maddison, arriving at the back post, follows up on the loose ball and just catches the goalkeeper with his foot making contact with his head. The medics are busy so far, but he's good to continue.
15th min: Yaremchuk is played in over the top and is through one on one with Pickford but drags his shot wide. The flag goes up anyway for offside but that won't do his confidence much good!
11th min: Chilwell gets down the left and whips in a dangerous ball but it's just too high for Kane to connect, and Saka, arriving at the back post, can't control the ball. England on the front foot.
8th min: Kane goes down in the six-yard box under a challenge from Svatok and appeals for a penalty but the referee waves it away.
5th min: Some sloppy defending at the back from England presents Ukraine with half a chance on the edge of the box but the shot is easily blocked in the end.
2nd min: An early clash of heads for Chilwell and Malinoskyi that leaves the Ukrainian down and needing treatment. The medics deem him okay to carry on.
We're underway!
2 mins from kickoff: Anthems done before both teams stand together with the Ukrainian flag and the message 'Peace'. Great respect from both sets of fans.
5 mins from kickoff: The players make their way out of the tunnel. Harry Kane is set to be recognised before kick off in front of his home crowd having become his country's all-time top goalscorer last time out. His penalty against Italy saw him move to 54 goals, one more than previous record holder, Wayne Rooney.
A special moment for @HKane: England's all-time record goalscorer! pic.twitter.com/GhJIyFiSgh
— England (@England) March 26, 202315 mins from kickoff: The stadium is filling up nicely. Plenty of Ukrainian fans with a sea of blue and yellow flags are taking up one corner of the stadium in the lower tier and making themselves heard. Zinchenko's name is greeted with the biggest round of applause upon the reading of his name from the teamsheet over the tannoy.
30 mins from kickoff: Oleksandr Zinchenko will be in for a busy evening when he comes up against Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka as well as his former Manchester City comrades.
In what will be a poignant night of football given Ukraine’s appearances in Euro 2024 qualifiers, despite the ongoing conflict with Russia meaning they can’t play home matches in their own country, Zinchenko remains grateful for the support he has received.
"I love them all so much, but unfortunately on the pitch there are no friends, so let's see what is going to happen,” he said. "Bukayo has not given me the line-up yet, but I am going to push as much as I can.
“I got a lot of support from all of them [teammates], for which I am so grateful. I would like to also say a massive thanks to all of the UK for all of the help and support for all of us Ukrainians, for the country, our people, all of the refugees who are living here.
"It is so important for us. Without your support, it would be so difficult and tough. We really appreciate it."
We are here ???? pic.twitter.com/Kfk5VVO4j8
— Ukrainian Association of Football (@uafukraine) March 26, 202345 mins from kickoff: England’s squad for this match consists of 20 players with Luke Shaw suspended following his red card against Italy and Reece James dropping out injured. New of Foden's surgery on Sunday morning has also come as a blow.
Southgate opted not to call anyone else up for their second Euro 2024 qualifier, explaining: “We have just about enough to get through this game.
“We have been training with this group all week - to call somebody from the outside would be potentially quite complicated.
"We would have no idea where they might be and what their training load has been over the last couple of days.
"If we were going to do that at this point we would do that with the under-21s."
70 mins from kickoff: And here's England's starting XI with James Maddison coming into the attack.
Your #ThreeLions to play Ukraine! ???? pic.twitter.com/egZwmgW3bq
— England (@England) March 26, 202380 mins from kickoff: Ukraine have gone early with their team news. Arsenal's Oleksandr Zinchenko and Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk start.
Our line-up ????????️ pic.twitter.com/ERHTdSLoSn
— Ukrainian Association of Football (@uafukraine) March 26, 2023100 mins from kickoff: Some early team news for England with the FA announcing Phil Foden will miss today's match after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix.
The Manchester City forward was only on the pitch for a few minutes against Italy after coming on as a substitute only to be the man made to make way after Luke Shaw's sending off. Foden would most likely have been given a start today so Southgate now has a decision to make.
???? Phil Foden will not be in the squad to face Ukraine this evening as he has had surgery to remove his appendix.
???? Get well soon, Phil. pic.twitter.com/0Ykj3vOkIf
120 mins from kickoff: Hello, and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of tonight's Euro 2024 qualifier from Wembley. Can England follow up their win against Italy with victory over Ukraine? Is Harry Kane going to extend his goalscoring record even further? Could Ukraine cause an upset? We'll soon be finding out. Let's get going!
It’s good to be back, @wembleystadium! ???? pic.twitter.com/Ho1GObGhkn
— England (@England) March 26, 2023 England vs Ukraine confirmed lineupsSouthgate makes three changes to the starting XI from the team that beat Italy. He was forced into one change following Luke Shaw's red card, with Chelsea's Ben Chilwell stepping in at left-back.
Elsewhere, the hosts rotate with Jordan Henderson and James Maddison coming in for Kalvin Phillips and Jack Grealish. Phil Foden and Reece James withdrew from the squad on due to an injury concern.
England starting XI (4-3-3): Pickford (GK) — Walker, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell — Bellingham, Rice, Henderson — Saka, Kane, Maddison
England subs: Ramsdale (GK), Forster (GK), Trippier, Dier, Guehi, Phillips, Gallagher, Toney, Grealish
Rotan's key pair of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Mykhailo Mudryk both start for the visitors, but veteran captain Andriy Yarmolenko misses out. Zinchenko had been rested for a midweek friendly match against a Brentford side.
Ukraine starting XI (4-2-3-1): Trubin (GK) — Karavev, Svatok, Matviyenko, Mykolenko — Zinchenko, Stepanenko — Malinovskyi, Sudakov, Mudryk — Yaremchuk
Ukraine subs: Lunin (GK), Shevchenko (GK), Sobol, Sarapii, Sydorchuk, Konoplianka, Dovbyk, Miroshnichenko, Buyalskiy, Tsygankov, Bondarenko, Pikhalonok
MORE: How many teams qualify to Euro 2024? Rules, format explained
How to watch England vs UkraineHere's how to watch all of the action from this match in some of the major territories:
TV channel Streaming USA — Fubo, ViX+ Canada — DAZN UK Channel 4 All 4 Australia — Optus Sport New Zealand Sky Sport 7 beIN Sports beIN Sports Connect India Sony TEN 2 Jio TV, Sony LIV Hong Kong — — Malaysia Astro SuperSport 3Astro GO, sooka
Singapore Hub Sports 2 StarHub TV+UK: This match will broadcast live in the UK via Channel 4 and All 4 streaming services
USA: This game will be available via the ViX+ platform for subscribers in both English and Spanish. It will also be streamed live via Fubo.
Canada: Euro 2024 qualifying matches will be broadcast exclusively via DAZN in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with fubo in Canada
