England v Ukraine: Correct Score Tip

The second half of the match again Sweden was extraordinarily un-England-like and I think, at least for now, it should be regarded as a one-off.

For the first 3.5 matches of the Roy Hodgson era we witnessed a cautious and defensively sound team who seemed to lack a creative spark but might just keep a clean sheet. That suddenly all went out the window in the second period against the Scandinavians when England suddenly conceded twice from set-pieces before storming back with some attacking intent.

Let’s assume that 45 minutes was an aberration. Ukraine will be a different challenge, a proper away fixture. For the hosts this is billed as the biggest game in their history which means they’ll be supremely motivated but potentially nervous.

The problem they have is that talisman Andriy Shevchenko is rated as 50-50 to overcome a knee injury sufficiently to start. Even if they do get him onto the pitch, the burden of expectation is huge on a 35-year-old struggling for fitness.

Without the former Chelsea striker, it would be hard to see where the Ukraine goals are coming from. Nobody else has scored for Oleg Blokhin’s side in this tournament and they have only mustered seven attempts on target with ‘Sheva’, who’s had four of those efforts.

England had a defensive wake-up call against Sweden and will be determined to claim a clean sheet tonight. With Rooney back and several of the youngsters growing in confidence, they should be able to weather the storm and sneak a 1-0 victory at a best price of 15/2 with BetVictor.