Alan Shearer’s Ukraine v England preview: England will never have a better chance to reach a final

Former England captain Alan Shearer will be covering the Three Lions as part of our Matchday Squad throughout Euro 2020

Ukraine got a great result against Sweden to set up this quarter-final tie with England but there is a feeling that Southgate’s side are starting to gather momentum now in the tournament.

I was lucky enough to be at Wembley and the atmosphere was incredible. It won’t surprise anybody when I say that I think England will win this game too and qualify for the semi-finals.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Harry Kane catch fire now. I know the life as a striker. You could see the relief in his face when that goal went in. He missed a big chance just before half-time so to put that behind him and then score the winning goal, it is a credit to him.

England have been winning games without him firing, so that all bodes well ahead of their next game and hopefully further into the tournament.

We have to go and make the most of it now. It wouldn’t surprise me if we revert to a back four for the Ukraine game. Otherwise, it’s likely to be a similar team with two holding midfielders once again.

I think Gareth is looking at this and trying to keep games tight until the last half hour. With the amount of firepower we have on the bench, there are so many players who can change a game. We have a better depth of squad than any other team left in this tournament.

England will never have a better chance of reaching a final of a European Championship than they do now. The draw has fallen very kindly for them. If you were to handpick a draw, this would be it. Having said all that, we are away from Wembley for the first time against Ukraine in Rome and we can’t take any team lightly.

Check out the latest Euro 2020 odds.