Frank Lampard urges England to follow win in Moldova with victory over Ukraine

Frank Lampard has urged England to remember their form against Moldova and then step up another gear when they face the Ukraine at Wembley.

The Three Lions could put themselves in a strong position at the top of their World Cup qualifying group with a second victory in a row on Tuesday. But Chelsea midfielder Lampard says they must take nothing for granted.

Lampard said: “These World Cup qualifiers are big games, there is a lot of pressure and you need to pick up points especially at home.

“It’s a potentially tricky game. They will come with a desire to beat us. We need to be on the ball to make sure we get the right result.

“To get a good start in these qualifiers is very important because the Ukraine have the ability to be right up there in the mix.”



Lampard missed England’s narrow victory over Ukraine at Euro 2012 because he was injured shortly before the tournament and was unable to travel.

But he has found out plenty about Tuesday’s opponents from his team-mates.

He added: “It was a tough game for us. I spoke to the lads about it at lunch today and they said they had some very good players in their team. It was a good result for us over there. And I think the Ukraine will bring another tough game to the table.

“We couldn’t have asked for much more from our first game. Moldova is a tricky place to go -  and to win 5-0 I don’t think we can complain

“So we have to show it again. You will hear people get excited about the result, you have to understand it. But we need to stand up and move up another level again.”

Lampard believes England can be inspired by the performance of Team GB’s athletes at this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics – and some of the stars of the Games have been invited to watch the match at Wembley and be presented to the crowd.

Lampard said: “It’s a nice touch to link up Team GB and the England team.

"I am sure they will get a fantastic reception at half time when they come on at half-time. The whole Olympics and Paralympics has been a big success and we can all be inspired by what they have done.”

Tickets for the Ukraine match at Wembley on Tuesday are still on sale, and a family of four can come along for a bargain price of £60