Kyle Walker explains why England goal vs Ukraine meant so much

Kyle Walker admitted he was relieved to have finally broken his England goalscoring duck following his equaliser against Ukraine on Saturday.

The Manchester City defender squared the Euro 2024 qualifier four minutes before the break after latching onto a lofted ball before prodding home with cool composure. Former Blues star Oleksandr Zinchenko had opened the scoring for Ukraine on 26 minutes, the game ending 1-1.

Walker, 33, had previously gone 76 England games without a goal to his name, something had been nagging at the player in recent times. He told Channel 4: “It’s just a relief. Obviously to represent your country and be as fortunate as I have this many times, but to not score, it’s been on my mind. But now I can tick that off.”

England boss Gareth Southgate sang the praises of his mainstay defender, telling TV: “He [Walker] covered a very quick winger, he use the ball well and showed great composure for the goal. He is a very important player for our group."

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England will now have to wait until October to secure qualification to Germany Euro 2024 with the draw at the Wroclaw Stadium in Poland - the venue in which Ukraine host their home games amid Russia’s invasion of their homeland - wiping the visitors' 100 per cent group qualifying record.

Walker reacted to the draw diplomatically, saying: “It’s a point away from home. I think we’re in a good position in the group. It was always going to be tough coming here, they’re a proud nation.

“In front of goal I thought we lacked the cutting edge we normally have, but sometimes you have to take those games. Come away from home, take a point and move on. We know we can do better, but we move on to Tuesday now, which