Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchenko has claimed that his team is not scared of England ahead of their UEFA Euro 2020 quarter-final meeting.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, as quoted by Daily Mail, Andriy Shevchenko has made a big claim heading into his side’s UEFA Euro 2020 quarter-finals against England. The Ukraine head coach has insisted that the Blue and Yellow are not scared of the Three Lions.
Ukraine are in the UEFA Euro 2020 quarter-finals after a hard-fought battle against Sweden in the Round of 16. Having only made it to the knockout stages of the competition by the skin of their teeth, the Blue and Yellow came up trumps at the end of what was a pulsating encounter, beating Sweden 2-1 in the dying embers of the contest in extra time.
Up next for Andriy Shevchenko & co. are England, who are yet to face defeat at UEFA Euro 2020. In fact, the Three Lions boast the best defensive record in the competition, conceding just one goal so far. And unlike Ukraine, England were more commanding in their display, although they battled hard before seeing Germany off at the end of a 2-0 win to make it to the quarter-finals.
Heading into the next round, England are unsurprisingly the favourites to ease past Ukraine and reach the semi-finals of a second successive major international tournament, having done so at the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well. However, despite the size of the challenge for his side, Shevchenko is adamant that Ukraine are not scared of Gareth Southgate’s charges.
“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, 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.”
The challenge will be a major obstacle for Ukraine, who will be itching to defy all the odds and reach the penultimate stage of UEFA Euro 2020. Judging by Shevchenko’s comments, it is clear that Ukraine will take the game right to England and it will be interesting to see if such an outlook yields them a big win over the Three Lions.
