Italy could not beat North Macedonia this time either.
Kyle Walker leveled England at 1-1 late in the opening period. PDO
England had progressed from victory to victory in their own European Championship qualifying group.
The kingdom’s press had already calculated that the team could have secured its place in next summer’s final tournament already in the next qualifying window in October.
For that, it would have only needed to grab all three points from Ukraine, who were tied for second place in Group C.
England’s plan went to waste in the 26th minute of the game, when the four-time Premier League champion Oleksandr Zinchenko put the “hosts” in the lead at the end of a fine attack.
Viktor Tsyhankov and Jukhym Konoplja threw the ball to Zintchenko on the penalty line, and the midfielder who now represents Arsenal put it into the front corner with a first.
Walker equalized
Although Ukraine was marked as the home team of the group’s top fight, it was played on a neutral ground in Silesia, Poland, due to the war of aggression from Russia.
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Oleksandr Zinchenko dominated the midfield against England. PDO
England dominated the opening period, but Ukraine, who defended like hell, kept it well out of the scoring sector. However, the red shirts managed to tie the game even before the halftime whistle.
Harry Kane saw the sidepack by Kyle Walker spurt and the skipper sent a precise pass directly to the foot of the winger. Walker had an easy task to complete the opening goal of his national team career.
Italy dropped points
In the second period, the pressure on Ukraine’s goal grew almost unbearable. But whatever Bukayo Saka bombed the ball over the crossbar, the away team didn’t get any closer to the winning goal.
Ukrainian veskar Heorhi Buštsan in the end it was easy because the Ukrainian defense was so well organized to protect their own goal.
In the end, England was also satisfied with the available bonus point. Its position at the top of group C is still solid, even if the final confirmation of the EC place is postponed to at least November.
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Bryan Cristiante (left) couldn’t get a floated ball through the player wall and into the North Macedonia net. PDO
Later in the evening, Italy also had to settle for a point in North Macedonia with a new head coach Luciano Spalletti in the debut match.
Spalletti inherited the pesti from the one who moved to Saudi Arabia From Roberto Mancini. The 64-year-old coach named only two of the Napoli players he led to the Italian championship last season (Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Matteo Politano).
The opening goal of the match came at the beginning of the second period, when first Nicolò Barella bombed the ball into the upper log, and Ciro Immobile continued wearing it to an empty net.
The match was not easy for Italy. Last year’s disastrous loss in Palermo, when North Macedonia knocked the Azzurri out of the World Cup finals in Qatar, was still weighing heavily on the players’ minds.
This time, the lightning struck only half in the same place. Of course when Enis Bardhin the magnificent vapari sank Gianluigi Donnarumma behind the back in the 81st minute, Italy’s European Championship route became significantly more difficult.
The Blues have now played two matches less than England, but there is no less than nine points difference in the standings. Of course, if they win their mutual match against Ukraine next Tuesday at San Siro, they will already rise to the second place in the group and narrowly close to the European Championship.