Ukraine manager Andriy Shevchenko says England 'shouldn't scare us' ahead of Euro 2020 quarter-final

• Reading this in the Telegraph app? Sign up for Euro 2020 notifications here

• England vs Denmark live Euro 2021 score

Oleksandr Zinchenko insists Ukraine will be motivated by facing England’s multi-million superstars in Rome on Saturday and have no fear over causing an upset.

The Manchester City wing-back’s goal against Sweden helped his country reach the Euro quarter-finals, which is already the furthest they have been in the competition.

Gareth Southgate’s team will start as overwhelming favourites at Stadio Olimpico but the possibility of an upset is driving Andriy Shevchenko’s players, who have Zinchenko and Andriy Yarmolenko from the Premier League.

"I watched almost all of their matches at the Euros except for Germany," said Zinchenko. "I know many players of the team personally thanks to the matches in the Premier League.

"It is very difficult to score for this team, it is a great team with a fantastic selection of performers. If you look at their bench, there are players worth probably three national teams of Ukraine.

"But this should not frighten us, but rather motivate us. I have already felt that everything in this life is real. I will personally do my best to achieve the result in the next game."

Zinchenko, 24, has enjoyed an excellent season by helping City win the Premier League title and then taking his form to the Euros. He has previously rejected loan offers to leave the Etihad Stadium as he wants to fight for his place in Pep Guardiola’s team.

He is relishing the chance to face team-mate Raheem Sterling, who has scored three of England’s four goals in the competition.

"Raheem is in great shape," Zinchenko said. "He is the player who makes a difference on the field. Of course, we should pay attention to it and try to restrain it."

Ukraine have reached this stage of the World Cup previously but have never made it to the last eight at the Euros.

Shevchenko has been dealt a blow with Artem Besedin, used as a sub in the tournament, ruled out with a serious knee injury. But he says his players must be fearless as they look for a place in the semi-finals.

"England are a great team. They have a deep bench, an outstanding coaching staff and we are fully aware how tough this game is going to be,” said the former Chelsea striker.

"I saw all their three group matches, they are incredibly difficult to score against but their strength shouldn't scare us.

"It should motivate us because everything is possible in football, as in life, and we will play our hearts out to give our fans even more to cheer about."

Catch up on the rest of Wednesday's news in the updates below

---

03:00 PM

That's all for now

... but we'll be back tomorrow with another Euro 2020 live blog as we await the quarter-finals.

In the meantime, why not read about how England won the battle of the wing-backs, improved their set pieces and stifled Leon Goretzka on the way to beating Germany?

---

02:45 PM

Phillips appreciates mum's support

Go on love!! @LindsayCrosby1 🤣❤️ https://t.co/qkL3RyeQsX

— Kalvin Phillips (@Kalvinphillips) June 30, 2021

---

02:30 PM

Pleasing punditry

"What was this? A staple BBC TV drama seemingly containing the same old storyline, the tired tropes, the usual cliches, concluding with a finish that satisfies nobody, but the cynics. Yet this was different. This was England actually beating Germany, despite the cast faithfully obeying the script for at least 70 per cent of the production..."

Here's James Corrigan on why the BBC coverage of yesterday's game was so enjoyable.

---

02:15 PM

Three Lions back in training

Setting our sights on Saturday! 💪 pic.twitter.com/Yxp8H8TTNV

— England (@England) June 30, 2021

---

02:00 PM

Lucky England fan

They have been banned from travelling from the UK to Rome to watch England's history boys try to bring football home again.

But at least one lucky Three Lions fan will be there to cheer on Gareth Southgate's side against Ukraine – thanks to quarantine restrictions and a recent move to Germany which saw him returned a pair of tickets he had previously given away.

Luke Curner, from Folkestone, secured seats for Saturday's European Championship quarter-final when they were first balloted back in 2019, long before the coronavirus crisis saw the tournament put back a year.

The date of the game happened to coincide with the week of his 36^th birthday and he drew up plans to make a weekend of it in Rome with his German wife, Isabella.

But when the couple became parents last year, he decided it would be irresponsible to spend hundreds of pounds on an Italian mini-break and he gave the tickets to a former colleague.

Almost a year later, Mr Curner and his family moved to Helmstedt in Germany when he lost his job as a result of the pandemic.

Now, after quarantine rules made it impossible for his ex-colleague to get to Rome this weekend, the father of two has suddenly found himself back in possession of the tickets he had given away. Fans are allowed to travel between Germany and Italy without quarantining, while anyone travelling from the UK must quarantine for five days on arrival.

Until Tuesday night, of course, those tickets could just as easily have ended up being for a game involving Germany rather than England.

So he had more reason than most to be cheering the Three Lions on to victory.

Describing himself as "over the moon" with the 2-0 win, he told the Daily Telegraph his reaction to England's historic triumph did not go down well at home.

"My wife hates me because I woke up both children when England scored and the neighbours all know that I'm English now. Well, they must do because of the noise I created."

The other person not celebrating his good fortune is his "really gutted" former colleague, among thousands of England fans with tickets for the game who have been forced to offload them to the likes of Mr Curner.

"He messaged me last night and he was like, 'Can't believe it. Can't believe I can't make it.'"

Unlike last year, Mr Curner said he had no qualms leaving his two young daughters behind – his German in-laws live nearby – to watch England's bid to secure a home semi-final next Wednesday.

But would he still have gone had Germany won on Tuesday instead?

"Yes, we would have still gone but, instead of me wearing my England shirt, my wife would be wearing her German shirt and I'd be hoping for some schadenfreude with Germany losing," he said.

By Ben Rumsby

---

01:30 PM

The secret to England's success in defence

"England are only the second team in European Championship history not to concede a goal in their opening four matches. They have been breached just once in their last 12 games, by Poland's Jakub Moder in a World Cup qualifier in March, and their current run without conceding is the longest in the history of the national team..."

Here's Daniel Zeqiri on the formula behind England's defensive excellence.

---

01:15 PM

Southgate praises Kane and Sterling

He may have warned his players to keep their feet on the ground after their win against Germany, but Gareth Southgate couldn't help but talk up his goalscorers in his post-match press conference.

Raheem Sterling got the opener on the 75-minute mark, before Harry Kane stooped to head past Manuel Neuer just over 10 minutes later.

"I was pleased for both of them because they both have to prove people wrong all the time," said Southgate.

"Raheem has been immense for us over a three or four-year period. He knows he has our trust and his performances have been electric.

"It was a really important moment for Harry, I think. It doesn't matter what else you're doing in the game as a forward, you need those goals, so I was pleased to see the second one go in, I have to say."

---

01:00 PM

Kane sends message to England fans

Thank you to all the fans at Wembley and up and down the country. Your support so far has been incredible. Let’s keep going! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/7r1oEpi9Kj

— Harry Kane (@HKane) June 30, 2021

---

12:50 PM

Pick a winner

Fancy a go at divining the future?

Here's our interactive Euro 2020 predictor, which allows you to plot out the rest of the tournament based on your own insight, whims and inherent biases.

---

12:30 PM

A psychologist's view on England

The big danger for England is seeing the win over Germany as the great success and not being as prepared for the meeting with Ukraine.

Had England's next game been against a side like France, there would be no issue around the players being psyched up. With it being Ukraine, the public at least will assume it is a very winnable game. The great risk is that the next match isn't played at the intensity at which it should be or that concentration levels are not at the levels required.

The players need to consciously revisit the last time they played in a big match and then had a let-down in the next one. They must examine why that was and what they need to do to avoid those pitfalls this time around.

Perhaps the equivalent scenario is in 2018. Many people in England went into the Croatia semi-final thinking: "World Cup final, here we come!" But we didn't get there.

Gareth Southgate will have the knowledge of what it's like to go through several rounds of a major competition, so when he speaks to the players, he will be speaking from a position of authority.

England must address this as simply a game of football, and Southgate would do well to say that publicly. They need to play with intensity and passion but come at it as just another game that you want to win. The belief will come from overcoming setbacks and Southgate must emphasise that we have learned from previous disappointments. The mantra must be: we won't repeat the mistake of Russia 2018.

Southgate will almost certainly be altering his set-up for Ukraine anyway – tactically, the game is a different proposition – but doing so will have the added benefit of providing a psychological break for the players that allows them to attack it as a fresh challenge.

Examining the specific problems Ukraine present and determining how we counteract those is key. For the creative players and defensive players these problems will be different, so it's about finding individual solutions to individual problems.

The energising factor will be having a clear plan and a clear set of goals. The players will use psychological skills such as imagery to see themselves performing successfully and at a high intensity to overcome the challenges they are presented with.

For example, Raheem Sterling might imagine himself dropping a shoulder one way and then going the other so he goes into the game with a high degree of confidence.

Of course, playing in Rome – as opposed to a febrile Wembley – will make a difference, but a quiet stadium with a small or neutral crowd should not faze them after a year of 'pandemic football'.

The crowd in Rome may be indifferent or even supporting Ukraine. If it's neutral, England would do well to try to get them on side. Usain Bolt competing at the Rio Olympics in 2016 is a tremendous example: he used the press conferences to form a bond with the locals by samba dancing and talking up his happiness to be there.

Southgate should try to replicate this – maybe not the dancing element, but he could talk up how appreciative England are to be in Italy and hype up the footballing history of the country, plus how great and knowledgeable the fans are.

If England can do all that, the blow of losing home advantage can be softened.

By Professor Andy Lane, a sports psychologist at the Centre for Health and Human Performance at the University of Wolverhampton.

---

12:15 PM

Who's going to win Euro 2020?

Moving onto the question we're all asking ourselves. Is it actually coming home this summer?

While England are in a much stronger position to win the tournament after beating Germany, they still have to get past tricky ties against Ukraine and one of Denmark or the Czech Republic to make the final.

That could set up a grand finale against one of Italy, Belgium, Spain or Switzerland, all of whom would make very difficult opponents.

So have the Three Lions got what it takes? Our writers have made their predictions and, well, some are more optimistic than others.

---

12:00 PM

France fallout continues

Amid the wider recriminations over France exiting Euro 2020 in the round of 16, the French press have highlighted an argument between several players' families at full time.

According to RMC Sport, Veronique Rabiot, mother of France midfielder Adrien Rabiot, clashed with relatives of Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba after the match.

France lost to Switzerland despite holding a 3-1 lead going into the last 10 minutes of normal time, with late goals from Haris Seferovic and Mario Gavranovic extending the contest. Having survived extra time, the Swiss won the penalty shoot-out when Mbappe's spot kick was saved by goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

That reportedly led to a heated exchange in the stands, with Rabiot's mother accusing Mbappe of arrogance. In a statement posted on Twitter after the match, Mbappe apologised to France fans for his miss and wrote: "It is very difficult to turn the page. I am sorry for this penalty. I wanted to help the team but I failed."

---

11:25 AM

Was it all a dream?

"The streets of south-east London seemed largely unchanged on Tuesday night. There were a few signs something unusual had happened. The grin on a woman's face outside a Wetherspoons, exclaiming into her phone "yeah what a goal!" A couple of cars with a couple of flags flapping gently out of rear windows. A rude song from a hidden beer garden about the size of Harry Maguire's head..."

Thom Gibbs and Luke Edwards both have thoughts on what it means to support England right now. Recommended reading.

---

11:05 AM

Huge numbers tune in to watch England

The BBC have announced that over 20 million people tuned in to watch England beat Germany yesterday.

The game registered the highest viewing figures of any programme in 2021 with a peak audience of 20.6 million. England could well go on to top that if they continue to progress.

---

10:50 AM

England fans told not to travel to Rome

After the mass outpouring of excitement, joy and relief at Wembley, the atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday is likely to be muted by comparison.

England fans have been warned not to travel to Italy for the quarter-final against Ukraine, with Italian authorities ramping up border controls to catch supporters trying to evade quarantine rules.

Italy currently stipulates that all visitors from Britain must quarantine for five days on arrival – meaning that even if fans arrive today, they would not have finished quarantine by the time the game kicks off.

The authorities say there will be strict penalties and possible criminal prosecution for England fans caught trying to evade the quarantine rule.

Nick Squires has the full story here.

---

10:40 AM

Ukraine fans on cloud nine

Just as the celebrations were starting to wind down in England last night, Ukraine supporters were going into raptures.

With the game all set for penalties, Artem Dovbyk's last-gasp goal was one of the most dramatic at the tournament so far. Heartbreak for Sweden, euphoria for their opponents.

---

10:05 AM

Disbelief in Kiev

This photo nicely captures the tension as the seconds ticked down towards Ukraine's win.

---

09:55 AM

England's next opponents

Need some background on Ukraine, their win against Sweden and what they will bring to the quarter-finals?

Here's James Ducker's report from Hampden Park, including stats, graphics and in-depth insight.

---

09:45 AM

England's win in pictures

Want to relive yesterday's jitters and jubilation?

Check out our gallery of photos from the game, including the best of the post-match celebrations.

---

09:25 AM

Carragher on Southgate

"When Gareth Southgate was named England manager, plenty of sceptics thought him an uninspired choice. To some he was a 'yes man'. Others saw him as a Football Association 'blazer' who would lack the necessary backbone for the job. If the country did not know it already, they will now appreciate all those preconceptions could not be further from the truth. It has been a long time since England had such a single-minded leader who is prepared to thrive or fail on his own terms..."

Here's Jamie Carragher on why Southgate, for all his mild-mannered daddishness, is England's strongest coach in years.

---

09:15 AM

Scenes from last night

... in Piccadilly Circus, where England supporters gathered to celebrate the win.

No traffic cones were harmed in the making of this photograph. Actually, we can't say that for sure.

---

09:05 AM

Pickford praise

"As recently as January, there was still a debate rumbling over whether or not Jordan Pickford should be England's goalkeeper at the European Championship. To have suggested then that Pickford would make a strong case to be the best goalkeeper at the tournament would have invited ridicule. And yet, for the second major tournament running, Pickford has emerged as one of England's key men and has repaid manager Gareth Southgate's faith in him..."

Here's Matt Law on how Pickford has defied his critics to win hearts and minds across the country.

---

08:50 AM

Vindication for Kane

"It was a rotten first half for Harry Kane. He knew it. We knew it. Everyone knew it. It has been a disappointing tournament too. He has looked slow, sluggish, even worn out, and it was summed up by his miss just before the interval when the ball broke to him from Raheem Sterling but he was ponderous, tried to shift it to his right foot and allowed Mats Hummels to intervene..."

Here's Jason Burt on Harry Kane's narrative redemption arc against Germany. It gets more complimentary, honest.

---

08:30 AM

England's route to the final

Look, we're not getting carried away, okay? This is a purely theoretical exercise.

Were England – in theory! – to beat Ukraine, who would they face in the semi-finals? And were they – in theory! – to win that game, who would stand between them and European triumph? Here are the answers.

---

08:20 AM

Collective catharsis

"Happiness, an emotion suppressed throughout England for much too long, washed over Wembley like a flood tide. True, there were strong notes of triumphalism, catharsis, even schadenfreude, as Gareth Southgate's team became the nation's first since 1966 to bundle Germany out of a major tournament, but this was an evening destined to be recalled above all else for pure, unalloyed elation. Never can a stadium technically only half-occupied have felt so full to bursting..."

Here's our chief sports writer Oliver Brown on the joy at Wembley following England's win.

---

08:15 AM

'The self-deception has been exposed'

After a big, existentially challenging defeat for one of Europe's biggest footballing nations, there's nothing better than a gloomy flick through the newspapers.

Yesterday it was France, today it's Germany. Der Tagesspiegel went with the headline: "15 years as national coach – that was the Low era". Die Welt went with: "After 15 long years the emptiness comes". The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung admitted: "The self-deception has been exposed".

There's more where that came from, believe us. Here's the rest of the German reaction.

---

07:55 AM

It's time for a round-up

... of all our coverage of England's momentous win at Wembley.

Let's face it, nobody's doing any work this morning. Grab yourself a coffee, get comfortable and procrastinate through the next hour with some quality football writing.

---

07:45 AM

Five arrests relating to England vs Germany

The latest police figures show that there were five arrests relating to the football yesterday. Those arrests included:

• A 21-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated common assault against a steward. He was further arrested for breaching a banning order (Wembley).

• Two males who were arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation (Wembley).

• A 31-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of common assault (Wembley).

• A 31-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of drunk and disorderly (central London).

All were taken into custody at police stations in north London.

---

07:35 AM

Shevchenko says England 'shouldn't scare us'

Ukraine manager Andriy Shevchenko has asked his team to play without fear against England on Saturday.

Shevchenko presided over a tight 2-1 victory against Sweden on Tuesday evening, with a thumping strike from Oleksandr Zinchenko and a header from Artem Dovbyk in the final minute of extra time enough to win the game.

Sweden were hampered by Marcus Danielson's red card with 99 minutes on the clock but, overall, it was a deserved win for Shevchenko's side. They will now face England in the quarter-finals, with the two sides set to meet at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Speaking after the match, Shevchenko said: "England are a great team. They have a deep bench, an outstanding coaching staff and we are fully aware how tough this game is going to be.

"I saw all their three group matches, [though] not today's win over Germany because we had to prepare for our own game with Sweden. They are incredibly difficult to score against but their strength shouldn't scare us.

"It should motivate us because everything is possible in football, as in life, and we will play our hearts out to give our fans even more to cheer about."

England earned a historic 2-0 win in their last-16 tie with Germany at Wembley, goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane ensuring their progression to the quarters.

"The players were immense, right the way through the team," Gareth Southgate said afterwards. "The fans in the stadium were also incredible.

"I've been in here with a full house and not heard it near the levels heard today, but the energy was incredible in the stadium... for those people, after such a difficult year at home, to have that enjoyment we've given them today was very special.

"It didn't need me to say it, but when we got in the dressing room we were talking about Saturday already. Today's been an immense performance, but at a cost emotionally and physically. We need to make sure we recover well.

"It's a dangerous moment for us. We have a feeling round the country that we only have to turn up to win the thing now, but it's going to be an immense challenge from here on.

"The players' feet are on the ground, they should feel confident from the way they've played, but we came here with an intention and we've not achieved that yet."