England back on familiar territory for their 'cup final' against Ukraine

• World Cup qualifier has make-or-break significance
• Ukraine counterpart preparing for match of his life

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• Barney Ronay in Kiev
• The Guardian, Monday 9 September 2013 23.16 BST

Defeat against Ukraine in Kiev is not worth contemplating for England's manager, Roy Hodgson. Photograph: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA

With two home qualifiers to follow it is still some way short of crunch time for Roy Hodgson's attempts to guide his England team of greenhorns and greybeards towards next year's World Cup. And yet given the peculiarly slow-burn dynamic of Group H, not to mention the sense in Kiev of a manager torn a little between innate tactical caution and the urge to seek what might well be a conclusive victory, it is clear this is a match of potentially decisive importance. Certainly Hodgson was happy to admit he is feeling the pressure before a game against Ukraine he described as "a cup final" when it comes to seizing the momentum in the impending sprint finish towards qualification.

"We are getting closer to the situation where we are either going to achieve our goals and qualify for the World Cup or we are going to fail," Hodgson said. "Of course that is pressure but that is part and parcel of the business. You cannot get away from that, but admitting it, what does that do? What would you like me to say? 'I don't feel any pressure; I couldn't care less; I can't sleep at night; I can't sleep a wink; I'm frightened to death that we are going to lose?'"

It is to be hoped Hodgson will not regret mentioning the possibility that Joe Hart might let a ball through his legs in the first minute when pondering the many variables of such a high-pressure occasion, the kind of comment that may come back to haunt an England manager.

Hodgson was talking hypothetically but there is still something unavoidably stirring in England's return to Kiev, scene of their ejection from Euro 2012 after one of the more conclusive and salutary 0-0 thrashings of recent years at the hands of Italy. One year on England return with decisive business once again at hand, with a squad significantly weakened by injury, and with a manager committed to managing expectation within a squad scattered with both international ingenues and with those who have fallen short in the past.

"Fear plays a part in our lives. It plays a part in peoples' lives outside of football," Hodgson said. "If you've got ambition to do your job well the fear that things might not go the way you'd want them to go is always there living with us. I think you've got to be sometimes bold enough to trust in what you can do, and believe in what you can do. This group of players certainly do have that. But the other thing is to make certain you're prepared to play the game that's there to be played on the night."

If there is a hint here that Hodgson may send his team out with something more in mind than seeking not to lose the game first, it is also perhaps a case of England's manager playing his part in a gentle game of bluff with his opposite number, the equally opaque Mykhaylo Fomenko. Hodgson did reveal that his team will feature just one change in the shape of Danny Welbeck's replacement.

"I'll leave that up to your imagination who that might be," he added. Rarely if ever can the imminent presence of James Milner in England's midfield have been shrouded in such tantalising mystery.

England do have some happy memories of Kiev in the form of the exhilarating 3-2 defeat of Sweden last year, stage for a moment of tactical boldness from Hodgson, who changed the game by introducing Theo Walcott for Milner. At some stage England will need to beat one of the stronger teams in the group and perhaps with this in mind Hodgson was keen to emphasise the possible defensive weakness in a Ukraine team that has played with a vibrant attacking elan under Fomenko. "They start the game with enormous energy and they are a very good pressing team," the manager said. "They take risks in their pressing in the same way that Barcelona took risks in their pressing. They certainly push a lot of players forward to pressure the ball. They are not afraid to take a risk that there will be space at the back."

Whether either of these teams will be willing to actively seek out such points of weakness is another question. On Monday the local daily Sport-Express characterised Ukrainian attitudes to this match with the headline "With hope and fear". Not that either were evident in the person of the formidably dour Fomenko, addressing the media in a silvery grey suit and open neck shirt that jarred slightly with his desiccated delivery.

Where some managers tickle and tease the press Fomenko appears to be engaged in a concerted chloroform-job. Asked if this was the match of his life, Fomenko answered: "And not just of mine", drawing a round of respectful applause. Would England miss Wayne Rooney on Tuesday night? "You should put this question to my colleague who coaches the England team," he replied.

If Fomenko is famed for his Soviet-grade impenetrability, there was some intrigue here too given the fine tactical nuances of risk and reward for both teams. To date Ukraine's manager has been gainfully cavalier when it comes to the real business of tempo and tactics. Tuesday night in the Olympic Stadium promises to be a genuine test of nerve.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 909