Ukraine Under-21s 0-0 England Under-21s: New Manchester United man Phil Jones impresses but stalemate dents Euro 2011 hopes

Other than an outrageous Daniel Sturridge volley that thumped the crossbar and a glaring Danny Welbeck miss, England did little of note throughout, with the result leaving them third in the group.

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Despite changing shape to 4-3-3, England were effected by the same inadequacies that haunted them against Spain, namely a lack of attacking innovation or genuine quality on the ball throughout the team.

With the Czech Republic losing 2-0 to Spain earlier in the evening, they sit just a point above England, meaning that nothing less than a win for the Three Lions in their final game in Sunday’s match up will result in England exiting the tournament.

After both Ukraine and England posted less than convincing starts to the tournament, changes to each starting lineup were expected and were delivered.

Ukraine posted five changes, the most notable being the absence of homeward-bound captain Taras Stepanenko, who pulled up with a calf injury against the Czech Republic. Stuart Pearce opted to stick by much-maligned captain Michael Mancienne in midfield, switching to a 4-3-3 to accommodate him alongside Jack Rodwell, who came in at the expense of Tom Cleverley.

Showing that they must have picked some tips up from the previous game with Spain, England started the game the more assertive of the two but found genuine penetration in the final third hard to come by, despite Sturridge’s fine footwork down the left that embodied Pearce’s request for more arrogance from his young charges.

The first effort on goal came from the Ukrainians, who had begun to counter England’s assured start, with Yevhen Konoplianka’s driven effort from range forcing a smart save from Frankie Fielding down to his left.

Ukraine continued to threaten with their fluid movement on the counter - with Ryan Bertrand and Kyle Walker firmly pinned back, forcing wide men Danny Rose and Sturridge to do most of their work in their own half – though they too found it difficult to craft attempts on goal.

As the game descended into England pumping relentless long balls forward and Ukraine enjoying fruitless spells of possession, it took a moment of innovation from Sturridge to bring the game to life. Coming in off the left flank, the Chelsea man brought the ball down and rattled in a volley from over 30 yards with his favoured left foot that had Anton Kanibolotskiy beaten every inch of the way, until it cannoned off the crossbar.

As the first half wound to a close England gathered their composure and attacked with intent, yet the closest they got to breaking the deadlock was when the increasingly isolated Welbeck dropped off into space and hit a fantastic diagonal, which would have put Sturridge through on ball, had the winger’s touch not let him down.

The second half picked up where the first ended, with England showing a vigour that was absent for a large chunk of the first 45 minutes. Sturridge again tried his luck from range, rifling a low free-kick from over 30 yards out that, while swerving, presented not too difficult a problem for Kanibolotskiy who smouthered the ball comfortably.

Welbeck was soon after presented with a golden chance to break the deadlock after he was released through on goal by a long Sturridge pass. The Manchester United frontman burst into the box but a combination of pressure from behind as well as Kanibolotskiy’s unorthodox reluctance to come off his line led to Welbeck shinning the ball wide of the post with the goal entirely at his mercy.

Mancienne drove narrowly wide from distance shortly after, before Pearce brought on Henri Lansbury and Scott Sinclair in place of Danny Rose and Jack Rodwell in a bid to sustain England’s new-found attacking impetus. And the duo combined instantly to nearly carve out a chance, but Sinclair failed to take Lansbury’s slipped through-ball in his stride.

Still England continued to crank up the pressure but they met a solid resistance in their opposition, who sent out a swift reminder of their desire not to settle for the draw when Denys Garmash lashed a shot from just outside the box that Fielding had to react well to in order to parry away.

As the game entered its final 15 minutes, both teams seemed weary in their efforts to grab a winner, best encapsulated by Roman Zozulya’s tired effort when well inside the England box when he was thwarted by Fielding’s outstretched leg.

So often the source of any of England’s attacking spark, Sturridge again went close with a venomous strike from range with his left foot that had Kanibolotskiy scrambling to palm the ball away, before the keeper followed up with another decent stop from a Chris Smalling header from the subsequent corner.

As the underwhelming encounter ground to a halt, the post-match diagnosis of the abundant need for more measured possession on the ball from England will ultimately raise more pertinent questions about Pearce’s claims of an inescapable DNA apparently evident in international sides, while England's immediate future in the tournament hangs in the balance.

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