England v Ukraine – Match Preview – UEFA WCQ – 11 September 2012
England looks to remain perfect in 2014 World Cup Qualifying as they host Ukraine on September 11, 2012. The match will take place at Wembley Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 3 PM USA EST.
England manager Roy Hodgson
“They (Olympics) have been such a success for the nation. It is terrific they can come and be paraded at the game tomorrow.
“It is nice for us to see the British people are still prepared to get behind their athletes.
“We as a sporting nation have profited enormously from the Olympic Games.
“It is important now that, in our individual sports, we try to keep some of that spirit going and try to tap in to what is a great interest in the English public in top level sport.”
“We will have 70,000 there tomorrow on a Tuesday night after a summer where people have spent a lot to watch the Olympics.
“It adds to the pressure, the fact we know so many people want us to do well, and it does tighten people up a bit.
“At times that can be a good thing as well because it means there is no question about not having the bright focus and the right attitude towards the game.
“That is important as a coach, knowing the players want it very badly and are focused on their task.”
England player Frank Lampard
“These World Cup qualifiers are big games, there is a lot of pressure and you need to pick up points especially at home.
“It’s a potentially tricky game. They will come with a desire to beat us. We need to be on the ball to make sure we get the right result.
“To get a good start in these qualifiers is very important because the Ukraine have the ability to be right up there in the mix.”
“We couldn’t have asked for much more from our first game. Moldova is a tricky place to go - and to win 5-0 I don’t think we can complain
“So we have to show it again. You will hear people get excited about the result, you have to understand it. But we need to stand up and move up another level again.”
“It’s a nice touch to link up Team GB (at Olympics) and the England team.
“I am sure they will get a fantastic reception at half time when they come on at half-time. The whole Olympics and Paralympics has been a big success and we can all be inspired by what they have done.”
England player Steven Gerrard
“It was a tough game for us (at Euro 2012). I spoke to the lads about it at lunch today and they said they had some very good players in their team. It was a good result for us over there. And I think the Ukraine will bring another tough game to the table.
“Ukraine have a group of players that have played together for a very long time and are very good technically.
“If we stand off they will hurt us. We gave them too much respect at times at the Euros and they had opportunities to score.
“They could feel hard done by in that game but we did what we needed to do, and we will hope for more of the same on Tuesday.
“We need to build on the victory against Moldova. That was a positive performance and tomorrow will be an even bigger test.”
“I think that will be one of the highest attendances throughout Europe tomorrow night.
“Off the back of the Olympics and the Paralympics it is incredible really.”
Ukraine manager Oleg Blokhin
“We respect the England team – but we will be trying to beat them.”
“If we are in the same position as Moldova, we will lose 8-0. They lost the game before they came onto the pitch.
“I prohibited my team from watching it. There was no point.
“I can’t promise we will win – but we will fight.”
