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England v Ukraine Review: Euros 2020

July 5th, 2021 | Football

England have advanced to the Semi-Finals of the EUROs after an impressive 4-0 win over Ukraine. For an England fan you can’t ask for much more. Positive attacking football, another clean-sheet, four goals scored and key players rested.

Raheem Sterling fed passed to Harry Kane who opened scoring early on in a tense and relatively even first-half. But within ten minutes of the second half England had pretty much secured their place in the semi-finals. Two Luke Shaw crosses were headered in, first by Harry Maguire before Kane got his second of the evening. Jordan Henderson sealed the win late on, heading in his first international goal from a Mason Mount corner.

Ukraine were decent in the first half but ultimately failed to create any real chances. As you may expect after 120 minutes of football against Sweden last time out, they tired in the second half and England played in third-gear.

A good win for the three-lions and one that sets up a semi-final clash against an impressive Denmark team.

Player Ratings:

England: Pickford (6), Shaw (8), Maguire (8), Stones (6), Walker (6), Rice (6), Philips (7), Sterling (7), Mount (6), Sancho (7), Kane (8)

Ukraine: Being added 6 July

MOTM: Luke Shaw

A tough one to pick. Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Harry Kane all really impressed me against Ukraine. But I feel as though Luke Shaw just edges it and doesn’t get enough credit for how good he is. I personally think he’s by far the best left-back in the world. He’s defensively sound, has brilliant stamina, energy, pace, vision along with an impressive passing range. He’s a brilliant crosser of the ball and links-up play in the final-third. Against Ukraine, he got two assists. A whipped free-kick delivery headed in by Harry Maguire, and a chipped cross directly onto the head of Harry Kane. Of course, both chances needed converting and credit to both Maguire and Kane for doing so, but they were really clear-cut and you’d question anyone for missing which shows how good both deliveries were. Both assists were different, and Shaw knew which kind of ball to play for each chance. He’s had a tough career with injuries and a lack of faith from managers at times, but he’s now proving to everyone he’s a brilliant footballer who deserves all the praise he gets.

Jack

Please note: The football articles that feature on this site are being written by Jack Dixon as part of his work experience. He is a teenager and looking for work experience within the football industry. He is currently studying for his media and art A-levels.