England CP captain Jack Rutter was the star of the show on the opening day of the CP World Championships, but attention turned immediately to Saturday’s clash against Ukraine.
Rutter led the Three Lions to an impressive 14-0 victory against Japan on Monday – and notched a double hat-trick in the process.
It was a moment he will remember for the rest of his life, he says, but was keen to emphasise that their next fixture will be an altogether tougher encounter.
England v Ukraine
Cerebral Palsy World Championships
Group phase
5pm, Saturday 20 June
Live on TheFA.com
“I had a few nerves beforehand when I woke up in the morning,” he admitted.
“But as soon as we saw the pitches and how many people had come down to watch us those nerves all went and it was just fantastic.
“When the national anthems came on the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
“When I led the boys out it was a moment I knew I’d never forget. And to put in a performance – both individually and as a team – like we did, it was extra pleasing.”
Jack Rutter celebrates one of his six strikes against Japan
England’s next opponents however will offer a far sterner test, and the captain knows it.
Ukraine, European champions and ranked second in the world, await.
And on Thursday Ukraine went two better than England and beat Japan 16-0.
Following Iran’s late withdrawal from the competition, the game now becomes a straight shoot-out for top spot in Group A.
“Ukraine are a great team,” added Rutter. “They’re very solid, determined and organised.
"When you get the ball they won’t just sit off you, they’ll be onto you and will be back into their positions straight away.
“We know they will probably have the ball more than us so we know we have to use the ball well when and concentrate when we’re defending. If we do that I believe we can get a result.
“We’ve prepared well. We’ve had a good amount of recovery time and we’ve been training well.”
