Reuters, September 8 – Manager Gareth Southgate said that all of his players are available for the encounter against Ukraine on Saturday and that England is fully anticipating a passionately pro-Ukraine atmosphere at Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw, Poland.
“We know there are thousands of Ukrainians here,” he told reporters at a press conference on Friday in Wroclaw. “We are expecting a passionate crowd but we are here to win a football game, so for us it is about keeping our emotions in check and focusing on our job.”
England is in first place in Group C with 12 points after four games and only one goal allowed. At Wembley, they defeated Ukraine 2-0 earlier in the qualifying round. With six points, Ukraine may clinch second place in the group with a win.
Southgate was asked how he felt about playing against the war-torn nation since Russia invaded the nation in February 2022, which Moscow refers to as a “special military operation.”
Southgate added, “I can’t speak from a wider viewpoint, but football-wise it is just a difficult game for us. “We are quite familiar with the players they have that have played in England. To get the desired outcome, we must play our best.
After switching from Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern Munich last month, captain Harry Kane, England’s all-time leading scorer with 58 goals, was questioned about calling Germany home, especially given it would host the Euros in 2019.
The 30-year-old claimed that Bayern Munich has had all of the attention as they attempt to win the games there. “We’re thinking about going to the Euros, but first we have to qualify. I try not to plan too far ahead, but maybe by the summer of 2019 it will start to seem more like home.
Kane laughed and responded, “It hasn’t really come along any further to be honest,” when asked if he had learned any German. When I go back, lessons are scheduled to begin.
Since joining Saudi Pro League team Al-Ettifaq, former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson has been under heavy fire, especially from LGBTQ+ organisations. In an interview this week, Henderson appeared to defend his decision in full hints that he would meet demonstrators in Wroclaw added fuel to the fire.
That won’t influence Southgate’s decision-making on Saturday, he said.
Southgate stated, “I don’t choose the team based on the opinion of others.” He has a great deal of professional experience. He can genuinely handle any scenario because he is so mature. The group as a whole has trained pretty well this week, and everyone is available, which is wonderful for us.
Bukayo Saka of Arsenal, who earlier in the week won the title of England’s men’s player of the year for the second consecutive year, received praise from Southgate.
He has been incredibly mature with us from the beginning, according to Southgate. He is a wonderful person to deal with and an entirely trustworthy player both with and without the ball.
“The number of goals scored from his left and right have probably improved the most. He is very well liked by the entire group and deserves all the praise he receives.
Eight of England’s nine previous matches against Ukraine have ended in victories for them; the only loss came in 2009 when England goalkeeper Robert Green was sent off early in the first half.
On Tuesday at Hampden Park, England takes on Scotland in a friendly match.
the author is Lori Ewing Toby Davis did the editing.
