England are ready for a new test of their Euro 2020 credentials as they take on Ukraine in a quarter-final clash in Rome on Saturday.
For the first and what will be the only time in the tournament should they get through, England must play away from their home ground of Wembley Stadium.
The winner of the game will play either Denmark or the Czech Republic in the semi-finals on Wednesday at Wembley, with the final also scheduled for the London stadium.
And to make life a bit harder for the team, the Italian government has warned England to stay away from the Stadio Olimpico unless they can prove they have completed five days of quarantine since arriving in the country.
“We've got to create our own atmosphere on Saturday in Rome, which we're capable of doing,” said England goalkeeper, who has kept four clean sheets in four games at the tournament. “The fans were tremendous the other night and throughout the group stages as well. I think that gives us added motivation for the game on Saturday to come back for a semifinal with 60,000 fans.”
For Ukraine’s coaching staff, meanwhile, playing in Italy is a homecoming. Manager Andriy Shevchenko was a prolific scorer during his playing days with AC Milan, while assistant coach Mauro Tassotti is from Rome and began his playing career at the Stadio Olimpico with Lazio before joining Milan as both a player and assistant coach.
There is no doubting who are the favourites to seal their place in the last four. England are ranked third in the world while Ukraine are 24th.
In the group stage of Euro 2020, England were unbeaten and finished top of their group while Ukraine lost twice and finished third, the only team with three points to make it to the knockout stage. This is their first Euro quarter-final match while it will be England's sixth.
But Tassotti is hoping Ukraine can use the underdogs tag to their advantage and garner the support of local fans attending the game.
“If the Italians support us because we’re the weaker team that’s absolutely fine,” Tassotti said. “I’m really hoping the fans give us some big support.”
England defeated Germany 2-0 in their last-16 game that saw Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane score the goals, while Ukraine needed a dramatic last-gasp winner from Artem Dovbyk to seal victory over Sweden in extra time.
