England must show steel as emotions run high before visit of Ukraine

I t is fair to say that there will be a lot going on at Wembley on Sunday before England kick off their second Euro 2024 qualifying tie, against Ukraine. A golden boot presentation for Harry Kane to mark his status as the nation’s record goalscorer; he set the mark with a penalty in Thursday’s 2-1 win over Italy in Naples and would be congratulated by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, on Saturday.

Another presentation, this one of a posthumous honorary England cap to the family of Jack Leslie, the black player who was denied the chance to play for his country in 1925 because of the colour of his skin. And a minute of applause for George Cohen, the 1966 World Cup winner, who died in December. So, sporting achievement; anti-racism plus the righting of a historical wrong; and the celebration of a cherished football figure. The power of the game – and specifically that of a sold-out Wembley – to provide a platform for so much continues to amaze.

There is something else, something that will colour the occasion, gruesomely unavoidable – the knowledge that war continues to rage in Ukraine, more than a year on from the Russian invasion; unspeakable cruelty and everyday reality.

“There is no one in Ukraine who didn’t lose something,” said the Ukraine and Arsenal player, Oleksandr Zinchenko. “Every single day, Ukrainian people are dying.”

The Football Association will welcome to the game more than 1,000 displaced Ukrainians and their host families in the United Kingdom. Around 4,200 Ukraine fans will be in the crowd and the players will come together before kick-off to send a message of peace.

The emotion whenever Ukraine play is almost overwhelming because Zinchenko and his teammates are acutely aware their compatriots are