Despite “great sympathy,” England manager Southgate hopes to defeat Ukraine in a “crucial” match
Before of the “crucial” European Championship qualifying match between England and Ukraine on Sunday at Wembley, Gareth Southgate stated that England felt “great sympathy” for the people of Ukraine.
England’s manager, Gareth Southgate, has urged his team to build on Thursday’s excellent 2-1 victory away to reigning champions Italy to continue their qualifying campaign this weekend.
Ukraine’s first game of the qualification campaign is on Sunday, and it comes as the nation is still embroiled in war as a result of Russia’s invasion last year.
At a press conference before the game on Saturday, Southgate said, “They (Ukraine) are really proud.
“We witnessed that even at the start of the war when they traveled to Scotland and Wales for the (World Cup) play-offs.
You can tell that they are a highly proud set of athletes. utterly dedicated to providing entertainment for their audience.
“We, of course, have great compassion for what is happening and support what is happening,” he continued, “but tomorrow is a football game, and we are entirely focused on trying to win the game. In the qualifying group, the game is important.
Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount, and Nick Pope are not playing for England since they withdrew from the initial roster, and Chelsea full-back Reece James withdrew on Saturday due to what the Football Association described as a “ongoing issue.”
Luke Shaw’s suspension as a result of his red card against Italy.
As he downplayed worries about the health of midfielders Jordan Henderson, Jude Bellingham, and Kalvin Phillips, Southgate expressed optimism that England had “just about enough to go through the game.”
Those are all excellent, he said. For a little period, “With Kalvin, (Italy) was his first 90. We’ll just have to judge freshness more so than anything as he played 90 minutes at Bristol City in the cup.
“Yet that holds true for the entire group. It’s that time of year, so we need to strike the appropriate mix between consistency, continuity, and freshness.
AFP
