Saka then turned smartly and curled home a stunning 40th-minute effort for his seventh goal in his past 12 England starts. Kane's clever pass out to Saka was rewarded with a sublime cross that the England captain converted at the far post for his 55th England goal. Southgate's loyalty to Raheem Sterling meant that Saka was one of several players vying for one attacking position alongside Kane, but these days the 21-year-old is now one of the first names on Southgate's teamsheet.Įngland were ponderous in possession early on here against a well-organised side, but as they increased the tempo, Ukraine struggled to cope and Saka was the man who made them pay. It feels strange now to suggest that not that long ago, Saka's place in England's starting lineup was not a given. Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) 2. There should be no complacency, but a June doubleheader comprising Malta away and North Macedonia at home represents an excellent chance to sign off for the season with the maximum 12 points, a tally that will go a long way to securing one of the two top spots needed to qualify. This first camp back together is proof the players remain united behind him and already they can have one eye on next summer's Euro 2024 finals in Germany. The FA wanted Southgate to stay on after the World Cup, but he questioned his position in part out of a concern his presence was an obstacle to further progress. Often, a change of manager Is called for. There is never a guarantee that an international side will pick themselves up and go again after such an agonising tournament exit like the one England suffered in Qatar, losing to France despite spells as the better team and Kane missing a penalty that would have probably taken the tie into extra-time. Yet England backed up an impressive win in Naples on Thursday with a comfortable afternoon at Wembley, recovering from a slow start to score twice in four minutes to effectively end this as a contest by half-time. Group C looked a challenging prospect on paper, given the presence of the defending European champions (Italy), the highest-rank team in Pot 3 (Ukraine) and North Macedonia, which beat Italy in a World Cup playoff last year. The visitors were unable to trouble England, however, failing to register a single shot on target as Gareth Southgate's side maintained a 100% start to Group C. Kane received a Golden Boot from Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt in a prematch presentation to mark becoming England's all-time top goal scorer on an emotional afternoon at Wembley as Ukraine's ongoing war effort was recognised, with both sets of players calling for peace. Kane broke the deadlock on 37 minutes with his 55th England goal as he steered home Saka's clever right-wing cross before the Arsenal winger doubled the advantage with a sublime effort from outside the box. LONDON - Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka scored first-half goals as England beat Ukraine 2-0 at Wembley on Sunday to take control of Euro 2024 qualifying Group C. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĮngland take control of tricky Euro 2024 qualifying group after comfortable win over Ukraine
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