England’s winning run in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign came to a halt as they were held to a draw by Ukraine in Wroclaw.
40,000 of Ukraine’s own supporters were present at the Tarczynski Arena to support them, giving the match the fervor of a home match since they are unable to play in their own nation due to the war with Russia.
And their magnificently noisy backing turned to a deafening roar when Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko put them ahead after 26 minutes when he turned in a cross from Yukhym Konoplya.
England had plenty of possession but lacked creativity, and it was left to a moment of brilliance from captain Harry Kane to set up the equalizer four minutes before half-time, dropping back almost to the halfway line before sending a magnificent raking pass to play in Kyle Walker for his first international goal on his 77th appearance.
The second half belonged to Gareth Southgate’s team, and they came close when Georgiy Bushchan of Ukraine deflected Bukayo Saka’s shot onto the bar with just a slight touch.
England are still firmly on course to qualify for next summer’s Euros in Germany, but this was a lacklustre performance.
Harry Kane’s goalscoring importance for England is proved by his status as the country’s record marksman, but his development into a complete player cannot be under-estimated.
Kane helped to rescue a point from a dreary team display with that brilliant demonstration of his vision and range of passing to set up Walker’s goal.
It was a rare moment of quality from England, and questions will once again be raised about what appeared to be a conservative approach from manager Gareth Southgate.
England’s midfield contained the natural talent and variety of Jude Bellingham and James Maddison, but there was a lack of balance and urgency in the face of a Ukraine side determined to repay their fans for some very special support.
It would take something truly remarkable for England to slip up in qualifying, yet there was very little in the way of positive news to take away from Wroclaw as Southgate’s players head to Glasgow for Tuesday’s friendly against Scotland.
