Soccer

    England ratings: James Maddison scores lowest in team with frustrating display against Ukraine

    Planet Sport writerStaff Writer9 September 2023
    James Maddison for England November 2022

    James Maddison for England November 2022

    England remained unbeaten in their European Championship qualifying group following a 1-1 draw with Ukraine.

    Arsenal's Oleksandr Zinchenko scored the opener for Ukraine to the delight of the partisan crowd in Wroclaw, Poland.

    England levelled before half-time through Kyle Walker’s first international goal on his 77th appearance for the national team, but Gareth Southgate’s side could not find a winner as they struggled for attacking fluidity and a cutting edge.

    Here, we take a closer look at how England's players performed. 

    JORDAN PICKFORD: Could do nothing about Oleksandr Zinchenko’s goal and was largely untested for the remainder of the evening. 6 (out of 10).

    KYLE WALKER: Equalised with his first England goal and also used his pace to stem the threat of Mykhailo Mudryk. 8.

    HARRY MAGUIRE: Missed two good chances to put England ahead at the start of the second half as he continues to retain the faith of manager Gareth Southgate. 6.

    MARC GUEHI: Partnered Maguire in the absence of John Stones and was a solid option. 6.

    BEN CHILWELL: Pushed forward whenever possible without really adding much to the England attack. 6.

    DECLAN RICE: Covered a remarkable amount of ground and nipped the ball off the toes of a Ukrainian opponent on numerous occasions. 7.

    JORDAN HENDERSON: An eye-catching inclusion following his move to Saudi Arabia, but Southgate needs to start looking at options to replace the 33-year-old before long. 6.

    JUDE BELLINGHAM: Did not have the type of impact that fans have become accustomed to and was taken off as Southgate attempted to freshen things up. 6.

    BUKAYO SAKA: Livened up after a quiet first half and came closest to winning it for England with curling effort that was tipped on to the crossbar. 7.

    JAMES MADDISON: Summed up England’s frustrations with a booking for a petulant kick in the first half and did not grasp his chance to impress on just his second senior start. 5.

    HARRY KANE: Dropped deeper to get into the game and from there provided a fine pass for Walker’s goal. 7.

    SUBSTITUTES:

    MARCUS RASHFORD (for Bellingham, 65): His introduction on to the left wing brought more balance to England, while his pace caused problems for Ukraine. 6.

    PHIL FODEN (for Maddison, 66): The treble winner could not inspire a late comeback win. 6.

    CONOR GALLAGHER (for Saka, 86): Late change as Southgate switched Foden to the flank. n/a