All eyes will be firmly on the Donbass Arena as host nation Ukraine will need to take all three points in their contest with England, who can still stop the group if the other result falls their way. Join us for live scores, and blog of this Euro 2012 encounter.
The Three Lions will welcome back Wayne Rooney for this key fixture, but with strikers Andy Carroll and Danny Welbeck both scoring, it will be interesting to see who will make way for Rooney’s (and his constantly mutating hair) return.
Theo Walcott proved the difference in the match against Sweden, and given James Milner’s only key contribution so far was to miss an open goal against France, I’d say there’s a strong possibility that the Man City winger could find himself on the bench for this one.
Despite assuring people pre-tournament that he could not play three games in a week, Andriy Shevchenko has played all but nine minutes for ‘Zhovto-Blakytni’ so far (yes, I had to Google their nickname) and it would be a complete surprise to us all if he were not leading the line for them in what is arguably the most important game in the nation’s history.
Let’s hope we’re not treated to another monsoon in the middle of summer as we were in the France/Ukraine match, and that the talking points will be about what happens ON the pitch, and not the weather, racism or anything else off it.
Oh, and we will be discussing Wayne Rooney’s hair.
So will football be one step closer to coming home? Or will the hosts march on in Shevchenko’s swansong? Join us just before 4:45am to find out. We’ll have all the line-ups, team news and formations for you then.
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
Thanks for following along, in particular Steven Lawry who made me not feel like I was talking to myself in the small hours of this morning. See you all in a couple of days for the second round - feel free to send us a tweet @TheRoarSports or myself @TheMattBungard Now sadly, it's time for work.
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
Well, England do enough but this game was not without controversy. Ukraine were denied a goal despite the ball crossing the line, both teams had a few decent chances but in the end; England are through as group winners!! Not the most convincing performance, but Rooney improved as the game went on and should be much more clinical on Sunday against Italy. Here's how the quarters look: Czech Rep v Portugal Germany v Greece England v Italy Spain v France
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
FULL TIME UKRAINE 0 ENGLAND 1
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
Larsson makes it 2-0 Sweden in the other game.
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
91st min, ENG 1-0 Yarmolenko curls on towards the top corner but it's just over. With Sweden winning as that game goes to injury time, England will top the group!!
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
Three minutes of added time.
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
89th min, ENG 1-0 The fast break was on with Ox and Walcott, but the former delayed his pass too long and was tackled.
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
87th min, ENG 1-0 Rooney (who got sharper as the game went on) departs, and Oxlade-Chamberlain comes on.
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
86th min, ENG 1-0 Shevchenko into the book for an awful tackle on Young.
steven lawry
Guest
ten minutes too late
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
And this time, it's dealt with. England are five minutes from topping the group!
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
Cleared away for another...
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
84th min, ENG 1-0 Butko pressures Cole into conceding a corner...
steven lawry
Guest
keeping fingers crossed... hard to type but waiting for the whistle and the sweet sound of victory.
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
82nd min, ENG 1-0 Second change is here for England - Andy Carroll on for Welbeck, who has had a quiet night.
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
Thankfully Cole is not one of the guys on a suspension and they reset after this game. But still, soft booking.
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
81st min, ENG 1-0 Nazarenko blazes over from 25 yards. Ukraine running out of time...
steven lawry
Guest
dont tell me the referee is going to decide the game now
steven lawry
Guest
englan up against fresh legs of theukrainians tough last ten
Matt Bungard
Roar Guru
78th min, ENG 1-0 Ashley Cole goes into the book for 'time wasting'. A bit harsh as he had to wait for the sub to be made.