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  Page Last Updated 29 September 2015

Україна/Ukrayina

 

 
766 vs. Brazil
767
768 vs. Malta

Wednesday, 31 May 2000
A Nationwide International Friendly Match

England 2 Ukraine 0 [1-0]
 

 

Match Summary
England Squad
Ukraine Squad

Wembley Stadium, Wembley, Brent, Greater London
Attendance: 55,975;
Kick-off: 8.00pm BST
Live on Sky Sports (UK) -
Commentator: Martin Tyler and Andy Gray

England - Robbie Fowler (44), Tony Adams (68).
no yellow or red cards
Results 1995-2000

England kicked-off. 93 minutes (46 & 47).

 

Match Summary

Officials from Slovakia

England

Type

Ukraine

Referee (black) - L'ubos Michel'
32 (16 May 1968), Stropkov, FIFA-listed 1994.

Assistant Referees -  Lubomir Suchy and Marian Ruzbarsky

Fourth Official - Jeffrey
Thomas Winter, Middlesbrough.

Teams presented to Peter Shilton, OBE. ex-England goalkeeper.
  Goal Attempts  
  Attempts on Target  
  Hit Bar/Post  
  Corner Kicks Won  
  Offside Calls Against  
  Fouls Conceded  
  Possession  

England Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (10 May 2000) 12th
EFO ranking

ELO rating 11th to 9th
Colours: The 1999 Umbro away uniform - Red shadow pinbanded jersey with navy collar/cuffs, white shorts, red socks.
Capt: Alan Shearer, thirtieth captaincy. Head Coach: Joseph Kevin Keegan OBE, 49 (14 February 1951), appointed as caretaker coach 17 February 1999, full-time 14 May 1999.
12th match, W 5 - D 6 - L 1 - F 18 - A 6.
England Lineup
1 Martyn, A. Nigel 33 11 August 1966 G Leeds United AFC 13 7ᵍᵃ
2 Gerrard, Steven G., off 81st min. 20 30 May 1980 D Liverpool FC 1 0
3 Neville, Philip J., off 73rd min. 23 21 January 1977 D Manchester United FC 25 0
4 Southgate, Gareth 29 3 September 1970 D Aston Villa FC 35 1
5 Adams, Tony A. 33 10 October 1966 D Arsenal FC 63 5
6 Campbell, Sulzeer J. 25 18 September 1974 D Tottenham Hotspur FC 32 2
7 Beckham, David R.J. 25 2 May 1975 M Manchester United FC 30 1
8 Scholes, Paul, off 73rd min. 25 16 November 1974 M Manchester United FC 23 9
9 Shearer, Alan 29 13 August 1970 F Newcastle United FC 59 28
10 Fowler, Robert B., off 46th min. 25 9 April 1975 F Leeds United AFC 13 3
11 McManaman, Steven 28 11 February 1972 M

Real Madrid CF, Spain

27 2
England Substitutes
19 Heskey, Emile W.I., on 46th min. for Fowler 22 11 January 1978 F Liverpool FC 6 0
16 Barry, Gareth, on 73 min. for Neville 19 23 February 1981 D Aston Villa FC 1 0
17 Barmby, Nicholas J., on 73 min. for Scholes 26 11 February 1974 M Everton FC 12 3
12 Dyer, Kieron C., on 81 min. for Gerrard 21 29 December 1978 M

Newcastle United FC

5 0
unused substitutes: 13-Richard Wright, 14-Martin Keown, 15-Rio Ferdinand, 18-Kevin Phillips.
 
3-5-2 -

Averages:

Age 26.8 Appearances/Goals - -

 

Ukraine Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (10 May 2000) 28th
EFO ranking

ELO rating 33rd to 36th
Colours: Made by Puma - Yellow v-necked jerseys with blue side panels extending up to the collar to become part of the collar trim, white collar/cuffs/sides, blue shorts, yellow socks with blue calf hoop.
Capt: Oleh Luzhny Manager: Valeriy Vasylyovych Lobanovskyi, 61 (6 January 1939), appointed coach in 1999.  Also coach of FC Dynamo Kyiv.
Ukraine Lineup
1 Kernozenko, Vyacheslav, off 84th min. 23 4 June 1976 G FC Dynamo Kyiv 1 2ᵍᵃ
2 Luzhny, Oleh 31 5 August 1968 D Arsenal FC, England 35 0
3 Tymoschuk, Anatoliy 21 30 March 1979 D FC Shakhtar Donetsk 2 0
4 Holovko, Olexandr 28 6 January 1972 D FC Dynamo Kyiv 37 0
5 Vashchyuk, Vladislav 25 2 January 1975 D FC Dynamo Kyiv 28 1
6 Dmytrulin, Yuriy 25 10 February 1975 D FC Dynamo Kyiv 23 1
7 Popov, Serhiy, off 70th min. 29 22 April 1971 D FC Shakhtar Donetsk 34 4
8 Husin, Andriy 27 11 December 1972 M FC Dynamo Kyiv 25 4
9 Kandaurov, Serhiy, off 63rd min. 29 2 December 1972 M Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Portugal 6 0
10 Shevchenko, Andriy 23 29 September 1976 F AC Milan SpA, Italy 29 9
11 Rebrov, Serhiy 25 3 June 1974 F FC Dynamo Kyiv 36 12
Ukraine Substitutes
15 Moroz, Gennadiy, on 63rd min. for Kandaurov 25 27 March 1975   FC Kryvbas Kryviy Rih 4 0
19 Vorobei, Andriy, on 70th min. for Popov 21 29 November 1978   FC Shakhtar Donetsk 1 0
13 Levytsky, Maxim, on 84th min. for Kernozenko 27 26 November 1972   AS de Saint-Étienne Loire, France 1 0
unused substitutes: 12-Yuri Virt, 14-Gennadiy Zubov, 16-Serhiy Myzin, 17-Mikhailo Starostyak, 18-Serhiy Kovalev.
team notes: Coach Valery Lobanovsky managed Soviet Union's team against England in June 1988.
 
- -

Averages:

Age - Appearances/Goals - -

 

    Match Report by Mike Payne

 

Source Notes

England kept their Euro 2000 bandwagon on track with victory over a dangerous Ukraine side in their last home game before the finals.  Robbie Fowler put the seal on his place in the squad by firing England ahead just before half-time.  And Tony Adams doubled the advantage after the break as the Wembley crowd were treated to a second-half exhibition of flowing football.

But there was to be no fairytale send-off for skipper Alan Shearer, who failed to find the net in his last ever home international.

Liverpool striker Fowler struck with half-time approaching, after England had struggled to break down the determined Ukrainians.  Shearer - who will retire after the finals - sent a header goalwards from David Beckham's corner and, when Ukranian keeper Viatcheslav Kernozenko failed to hold the ball, Fowler was on hand to slam it into the roof of the net.  Ukraine's brave effort was virtually extinguished midway through the second half when Adams scored - again from a corner.

The Arsenal defender found himself in a rare attacking position and, after pressure from Shearer, smacked a shot into the ground which bounced over Kernozenko's despairing dive and into the back of the net. 

After a stuttering start, England's performance gained in authority as the game progressed.  And by the closing stages, with a number of fringe players looking to catch the eye of manager Kevin Keegan, confidence was high and chances were carved out at regular intervals.  Emile Heskey should have made it 3-0 15 minutes from time but, after a neat through-ball from fellow substitute Nick Barmby had sent him clear on goal, his shot was blocked by the Ukraine keeper.  There were further chances for Heskey and the livewire Barmby, but Keegan will have been happy with the 2-0 scoreline.

Fowler was arguably England's most impressive player in a first half in which they made inroads going forward but sometimes struggled to cope with an unfamiliar 3-5-2 formation.

They were disjointed in the early stages, but Paul Scholes struck the post with a low shot, with Fowler again at the centre of the attack.  Keegan showed how secure Fowler's place was in his squad when he replaced the goalscorer with his Anfield team-mate Heskey at half-time.  Despite England's regular forays forward, they did not always look quite so secure at the back.

Ukraine, who are rated by many experts as the best team not to reach the European Championships, were a constant threat on the break. And they would have equalised after the interval, had England keeper Nigel Martyn not won a personal duel with the visitors' star striker Andrei Shevchenko.  First, a minute after the break, the AC Milan forward sprinted past Sol Campbell and fired in a fierce shot, which Martyn was forced to parry.  Shevchenko, the top scorer in Serie A last season, was again denied by an athletic Martyn save when he powered a header towards the corner of the net.  England's second-choice keeper then made it three fine saves in a row when he tipped Shevchenko's fizzing free-kick over the bar.

TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Official teamsheet
Rothman's Yearbooks
F.A. Yearbook
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